Quest Ministries

Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

2012-01-03T10:16:00.001-08:00

From Stan Bohall

Spiritual Director at Various Locations

Greater Boston Area

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- Stan

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The Narnia Code: A Review

2011-07-09T05:25:00.000-07:00

Michael Ward may not be a household name in every neighborhood, but it certainly has become one among fans of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Ward writes and speaks widely on his discovery about the Chronicles that could be as significant for Lewis research as the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has been for biblical studies.

I heard Ward’s name for the first time late one evening in 2005. Our son Jeremy called to tell me about a lecture Ward had just given at Gordon College. Jeremy said that this scholar believed that there is a direct connection between the Chronicles and seven planets in the heavens. I was skeptical, but our son’s enthusiasm prompted me to keep an open mind.

Soon I discovered that Michael Ward is a rising star among Lewis experts. He is a priest of the Church of England who, for a time, was resident warden of the Kilns, the late professor’s home. I read two of his articles: “Narnia’s Secret” in Touchstone magazine (2007) and “C.S. Lewis and the Star of Bethlehem” in Books & Culture (2008). I devoured his book, Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis, a lengthy study of Lewis’s fiction and some of his non-fiction relative to the medieval planets. I even listened to an extended interview of Ward by Ken Myers in Mars Hill Audio.

The articles, book and interview convinced me that Ward had made a discovery that brings to light a previously unknown feature of The Chronicles of Narnia. Ward argues convincingly that Lewis secretly based the Chronicles on the seven planets known to pre-modern people as Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus and Saturn.

I set aside Planet Narnia thinking that would be the end of it. But no, in May 2011, I heard that Ward had written yet another book on the subject—this time with the dubious title, The Narnia Code. I also discovered that the BBC had produced an hour-long documentary on the topic. Would there be no end to the spin-offs?

When I showed Ward’s latest book to two of my friends, both wondered if anything good could come from a title reminiscent of The Da Vinci Code. But the adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” cuts both ways. Once again I remained open to the possibility that this book would be a valuable resource. I was not disappointed: It has much to offer, especially for readers unlikely to tackle Planet Narnia.

Ward piques our interest early on by describing the mystery: The Chronicles appear to be, as Lewis’s friend J. R. R. Tolkien expressed it, thrown together from different traditions (talking animals, English children, fauns and centaurs, Father Christmas, etc.) for no apparent reason (7). Early reviews expressed that the books were “effectively planless—just Lewis having fun and not taking much care how.” One critic described Narnia as a “jumble,” “full of inconsistencies.” Another wrote that the Chronicles were “uneven” and “hastily written.” A third suggested that Lewis wrote “glibly” in a “wizz-bang, easy-come-easy-go, slap-it-down kind of way” (6).

The appearance of Father Christmas in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an obvious example of this mystery. Even as a six-years-old, “[Ward] somehow felt that Father Christmas belonged to a different kind of story world” (2). The issue gnawed at him until the solution came to light one evening as he read Lewis’s poem, “The Planets.” It was Ward’s keen awareness of Lewis’s life and work that led to the discovery that had eluded scholars for six decades.

Ward carries us along, as in a good detective novel, to give the sense that we are solving the mystery ourselves. Chapter one demonstrates that Lewis’s manner of working was anything but careless. One bit of evidence is a testimonial by Lewis’s friend Owen Barfield. He wrote that “what [Lewis] thought about everything was secretly present in what he said about anything” (9). If that is true, ideas from Lewis’s non-fiction works and poetry would also be present in his Narnian tales. Ward shows us those connections throughout The Narnia Code.

His second chapter points to the atmospheres of the planets. According to Lewis, a good story has the flavor or feel of a whole world. We read a story over and over because of its atmosphere. We are no longer surprised by the details; we are enthralled by its taste (23-24). In this way Ward introduces the notion that each of the Chronicles has a distinctive and identifiable atmosphere consistent with its corresponding planet.

In chapter three, Ward explains Lewis’s view of the cosmos. Lewis was fascinated by the Copernican Revolution that began during the sixteenth century. Prior to Copernicus, people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe; but in 1543 Copernicus unveiled his theory that the planets revolve around the Sun. Lewis pointed out that the pre-Copernican cosmos ‘tingled with life;’ but as the revolution spread, people began to see the universe merely as a mechanism.

Even though this pre-modern image had been disproven scientifically, Lewis believed that we should treasure it as part of our connection with the past (31-32). He loved this view of the cosmos expressed by medieval poets. It provides an array of colorful and meaningful symbols. Through it we can appreciate the spiritual significance of the universe (36-37). This view of the heavens prompted Lewis to read Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands,” quite literally.

Accordingly, Lewis believed in the influence of the planets (28, 41); he believed in their permanent value as spiritual symbols (42); and he believed in “the music of the spheres” (42). Ward concludes that Lewis structured each Chronicle “so that it would embody and express the spiritual quality of one of the seven planets” (42).

Chapters four through ten comprise the heart of the book. Each chapter conveys the atmosphere of the story and the influence of the planet it represents. Ward helps us see the spiritual symbolism of the stories. He enables us to listen to the music of the spheres and to observe the heavens.

The final two chapters are like the application in a well crafted sermon. First, Ward points out that Jesus shines in the Chronicles as he does in the seven-branched candlestick of Revelation 1:12-13 (131). The seven-fold portrayal of Jesus in the Chronicles is also analogous to the four-fold portrayal of Christ in the Gospels. The splendor of the Christ-figure, Aslan, is arrayed in the imagery of the planets; so we see Him as King, Commander, Light, Mirror, Word, Life and Mystery (131-132).

Finally, Ward points out that we will see Christ in the Chronicles by keeping the lens of our telescope clean. We need fellow-believers to guide, encourage and rebuke us. That happens as we pray, read the Bible and eat the Lord’s Supper together (142). Ward closes with an inspiring illustration of how his own lens was made clean. An older mentor, an acquaintance of Lewis, gave him wise counsel that led to this magnificent discovery about the Chronicles. His humble expression of gratitude is a fit finale consistent with the book’s style.

In spite of its regrettable title, The Narnia Code is a valuable resource that should have a wide audience. Of the two, I prefer Planet Narnia for its more thorough analysis of Lewis’s work. Yet I value the “younger brother,” as Ward characterizes it (29), for its easy-going style that makes the relationship between the Chronicles and the planets more memorable. Some will accept the challenge of Planet Narnia. Most will be satisfied with this revision.

Full-Body Worship

2011-06-11T03:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I witnessed a swearing-in ceremony in which several hundred immigrants became citizens of the United States of America. During the proceedings I took note of postures, gestures and words. The new citizens were asked to stand, to raise the right hand and to recite the oath of citizenship. Later, all of us, new citizens and observers alike, stood with hands over hearts to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. We all stood attentively, facing the flag, as we sang the national anthem.

As I observed all of this, it dawned on me that the oldest branches of Christianity observe a similar protocol. We kneel to confess our sins. We stand to affirm our allegiance to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Near the end of the creed we make the sign of the cross as a visible confession of our faith in Christ whose death on the cross made it possible for us to receive eternal life. Indeed, there are postures, gestures and words for us to use throughout the liturgy.

The worship settings I participated in most of my life fostered worship that is word-oriented. That was fine as far as it went, but worship lacked a full-body response. We stood from time to time, mostly to sing hymns; but standing and sitting never seemed purposeful. Now that I worship in the Anglican tradition I understand that rising, sitting, kneeling, extending a gesture of peace and making the sign of the cross are done for a reason. They give reading, singing and listening greater meaning.

I am thankful that we used appropriate postures, gestures and words a few days ago as the new citizens were sworn in. I am even more thankful that my fellow followers of Jesus Christ use appropriate postures, gestures and words as we worship the true and living God. That full-body worship helps me, as the Apostle Paul expressed it, present my body as a living sacrifice to God. May it continue forever.

Pictures of Enders Island Selah Residency

2011-06-07T13:04:00.001-07:00

Photo Credit: David Shaw

Which Order?

2011-06-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

Questions often arise regarding the reading-order for the Chronicles of Narnia. When I present seminars on the subject, I always urge people to read the stories in their original order—especially if they are reading them for the first time. Yet current editions typically come with a 1 on the spine of The Magician’s Nephew and a 2 on the spine of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, so first-time readers naturally take them in that sequence. I believe they will have a much better experience if they read them in their original order. Let’s consider the facts.

The Chronicles were originally published as The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), Prince Caspian (1951), The Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’ (1952), The Silver Chair (1953), The Horse and His Boy (1954), The Magician’s Nephew (1955), The Last Battle (1956).

In 1985 the sequence was changed to The Magician’s Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the ‘Dawn Trader’, The Silver Chair, The Last Battle.

Why the change? Alan Jacobs explains that, in letters to children and in conversation at the end of his life with his executor-to-be Walter Hooper, Lewis said that he preferred the chronological order. As a result, in 1985 the publisher rearranged the sequence.[1] Jacobs gives us a wonderful short argument for keeping the original order.[2] I consider his explanation to be the best short expression of the perspective I embrace. In the following summary I combine Jacobs’s explanation with some thoughts of my own.

1. Since the stories are self-contained they can be read in any order.

2. Yet I would never recommend reading The Last Battle before any of the others.

3. There is a so-called “Caspian Trilogy” that should be read consecutively. The trilogy conveys Caspian’s life from youth to old age. The second two stories show Eustace Scrubb’s spiritual progress. There is no reason to read them in reverse order.

4. HB should be read after LWW since it takes place during LWW.

5. Therefore the dispute comes down to one question: Should the sequence begin with LWW or with MN?[3]

6. The argument for MN is simple: It describes the creation of Narnia; so placing it at the beginning of the series replicates the Genesis-to-Revelation pattern of the Bible.[4] It also gives a nice chronological sequence to the stories.

7. The case for LWW is more complex and much stronger. Though Lewis spoke of altering the order of the books, he also spoke of needing to revise the books in order to remove inconsistencies. Placing MN first increases the number of inconsistencies.
a. We are told at the end of the LWW that this story is ‘the beginning of the adventures of Narnia’.[5]
b. The narrator tells readers that the children in LWW do not know who Aslan is ‘any more than you do’;[6] but readers know who Aslan is if they have already read MN.[7]
c. Much of the suspense in the early chapters of LWW comes from our inability to understand what is happening in the magical wardrobe. But if we have already read MN we will know all about the wardrobe, so that part of the story loses its punch.[8]
d. One of the delights of LWW is the inexplicable presence of a lamppost in the midst of a forest. It’s a very familiar object from our world standing curiously in the midst of an utterly different world. One of the delights of MN is the unexpected discovery of how that lamppost got there.[9]
e. At least six additional questions offer a sense of wonder for first-time readers of LWW.
Who is the professor?
How did the White Witch get into Narnia?
How was Narnia created?
How did the White Witch get so white?
Why was the professor not surprised by the differences in time between the two worlds?
How did the professor get his large house?
All six questions are answered in MN, so a huge “spoiler alert” should be given to a first-time reader who begins with MN.

8. Jacobs concludes his discussion by expressing that if Lewis really thought that the series should begin with The Magician’s Nephew, he was simply mistaken. The original order of publication is the best way for readers to explore Narnia.[10]

[1] Robert MacSwain and Michael Ward, Eds., The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 270.
[2] Jacobs, 269-271.
[3] Jacobs, 270.
[4] Jacobs, 270.
[5] Jacobs, 270-271. The quote is from very last sentence of LWW.
[6] LWW chapter 7
[7] Jacobs, 271.
[8] Jacobs, 271.
[9] Jacobs, 271.
[10] Jacobs, 271.

Going to Fairyland

2011-05-28T03:56:00.000-07:00

David Jasper points out that in George MacDonald's fantasy, Phantastes, "Fairyland is not so much the goal of the traveller's quest as the location of the spiritual journey which itself enables the quester to perceive something of the truth in God." (The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis, 224)

Certainly C. S. Lewis learned that truth from MacDonald; so he wrote the exchange between Aslan and Lucy and Edmund near the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. As the children realize they are about to return to their world Lucy says, "It isn't Narnia, you know, it's you. We shan't meet you there. Aslan responds, "But you shall meet me, dear one." So Edmund asks, "Are—are you there too, Sir?" Aslan replies, "I am. But there I have another name. you must learn to know me by that name. That was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little while, you may know me better there."

So there are many examples of characters in fantasy literature going into a fairyland where they "perceive something of the truth of God" and lead us to do the same. I'll suggest a few in this post.

First, I think of the members of the Fellowship entering Lothlόrien in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring (Chapters VI - IX). One could spend days or weeks mining the golden truths the questers received from Galadriel and others in her realm.

Then there's Smith in Tolkien's short story, Smith of Wootton Major. If you haven't read that glorious little story in a while, or at all, I urge you to spend an hour or so allowing Tolkien to mesmerize you. On second thought, it may take you longer if you linger on some of the glorious descriptions of the world of faery.

Don't forget George MacDonald's short fairytale The Golden Key that I believe is in the background of Lewis's glorious ending of The Last Battle. And of course there's MacDonald's other children's fairy tales, The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie.

You can't stay in the faery-world forever you know. You have to come back and live in this world. But once you have experienced God there you will be enabled to see Him here.

Let The Holidays Begin

2011-05-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

C. S. Lewis was such a wonderful writer and storyteller. This morning I discovered a delightful detail of beauty he included in The Chronicles of Narnia.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the narrator tells us when the children—Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy—heard Aslan's name spoken the first time each one felt something jump in his inside. "Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer" (chapter 7).

And, of course, those initial feelings proved to be significant in the story. Edmund was, by that time, loyal to the White Witch. So he had accepted the Witch's animosity toward the Lion. Peter became brave and adventurous in this story and throughout the series. Susan received the numinous quality of Aslan that she ultimately lost. Lucy's reaction was an inkling of the joy and satisfaction she would know "in Aslan" in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Yet, Lucy's reaction was also an inkling of ultimate joy, for near the end of The Last Battle Lucy says to Aslan, "We're so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often." Aslan assures Lucy and the others listening that he will no longer send them back to their world. "No fear of that. Have you not guessed?" The narrator comments, "Their hearts leaped and a wild hope rose within them." So Aslan tells them, "There was a real railway accident. Your father and mother and all of you are—as you used to call it in the Shadow-Lands—dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream has ended: this is the morning."

After seven stories and several years of writing, did Lewis remember Lucy's initial response to Aslan? Did he include it purposefully in The Last Battle to provide symmetry? We don't know. Perhaps that detail was part of the inspiration Lewis was under as he wrote the Chronicles. Whatever happened, I am grateful for that little stroke of beauty in the tapestry.

More than that, I am grateful that this beautiful detail will be true for us when Lord Jesus Christ brings this world to an end and takes us to our new home, the new heavens and the new earth. The term will be over: the holidays will begin. The dream will end: it will be the morning.

Jewel's Jubilance

2011-05-25T03:24:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday evening I completed an eight-week discussion of Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia for a church in the Anglican tradition. At long last we came to The Last Battle. Part of our experience was to listen to expressions of joy by characters who had just arrived in the real Narnia. Not least is Jewel's euphoric declaration as he began to experience the glory of his new home:

"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in."

Is it a coincidence that Jewel's jubilance is a seven-fold amen, as it were? No doubt Jewel spoke many words after that. He had an eternity to declare the glories of Aslan's Country. Given his loyal friendship with Narnia's last king, Tirian, I'm sure Jewel's vocation in his true home included friendship, loyalty and the unique glory of a unicorn.

The Significance of March 25

2011-03-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

I'll simply mention that we're coming up on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation: the announcement of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Virgin Mary.

March 25 is also an important date for readers of The Lord of the Rings. It's the date of the destruction of the Ring of Power. No doubt J. R. R. Tolkien purposefully chose March 25 for the destruction of the Ring as the date we celebrate the conception of our Lord Jesus--when God took on humanity.

Stand at the Crossroads and Look

2011-03-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

"This is what the LORD says:

'Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.'" Jeremiah 6:16

That is my theme for this season of Lent. I'll be standing at the crossroads and looking. I'll ask for the ancient paths to find the good way in which to walk. There I will find rest for my soul.

I invite others to come along.

A Psalm

2011-03-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Of Stan when he was at Toah Nippi: March 1, 2011.

I longed for the light of a single candle,
__to center on your presence, O Lord.

Why? To put life’s strands in order:
__Contemplation, Devotion
__Profession
__Family
__Church

It was difficult to focus;
__so I sat before the fireplace asking for the light of your glory.
My prayers were answered when Jeff stepped forward.
I was able to be attentive to you
__through the majesty of a flame, the light of a thousand candles.

But what about those strands?
__John asked how I experience God.
____“Through Beauty!”
____“Then pursue Beauty all the days of your life!”

This morning, in solitude and silence, I saw a measure of Beauty in Isaiah 53:4-5.
__The words Surely, Yet and But pointed the way.

O Lord, I am able to gaze upon Your Beauty as I am attentive to you.
__Solitude and Silence turn to Contemplation.
____Contemplation creates a space to behold your Beauty.
______It’s saying, “Yes!” to you—the One making a tapestry of life's strands.

Little Dorrit's Room

2011-03-02T04:26:00.000-08:00

"A garret, and a Marshalsea garret without compromise, was Little Dorrit's room. Beautifully kept, it was ugly in itself, and had little but cleanliness and air to set it off; for what embellishments she had ever been able to buy, had gone to her father's room. Howbeit, for this poor place she showed an increasing love; and to sit in it alone became her favorite rest." (Page 310 in the Penguin Classics edition)

This is simply beautiful writing; but it also gives us a glimpse of Amy Dorrit's character and preferences as well as her love for her father.

Writing 101

2011-02-24T09:00:00.000-08:00

I keep reading about verbs. “Verbs are the most important of all your tools,” says William Zinsser in On Writing Well.[1] One of Zinsser’s students recalls the adage that “a story should be a verb, not a noun.” He says that a newspaper article shouldn’t just be about a place or an institution. Something should be happening there.[2]

So I went to the Bible to see if its writers observe the rule. Then I realized that it’s the other way around: The Bible is the primary source for good writing; and yes, the Bible’s story is a verb. From the very beginning God was active: He created the heavens and the earth. He spoke everything into existence.

Checking other Bible passages, I noted that Psalm 23 is filled with verbs: The good shepherd makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. His rod and staff comfort me. The shepherd prepares a table before me and anoints my head with oil. My cup overflows. Goodness and love follow me throughout my life. I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Psalm 100 also is active. It prompts us to shout, worship, come, enter, give thanks, and praise. Why? Because the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thinking about this made me wonder why we humans are so attracted to verbs—active verbs in particular. Zinsser tells us, “Active verbs push hard; passive verbs tug fitfully. Active verbs also enable us to visualize an activity because they require a pronoun (‘he’), or a noun (‘the boy), or a person (‘Mrs. Scott’) to put them in motion.”[3]

Are we attracted to verbs merely because they energize us, or is something else going on? I think it’s the Imago Dei, God’s image in us; for God is the ultimate verb, the great I Am. So when God created us, he endowed us with language—the ability to verbalize. And God created us to be verbs, to act in his behalf—to cultivate the garden and to manage the animals.

Alas, we misused our endowment by doing that which God told us not to do. In plain language, we sinned against God. So the Bible tells us that God expelled us from the garden. Yet the Imago Dei prompted a desire, a longing, to return to the garden.

Again, God acted: He took the initiative to retrieve us. First he spoke to Abram, to Isaac and to Jacob to establish a nation through which we could return to God. And God continued speaking. In due time, he sent his Word into the world. “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” “. . . the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” How about those active verbs?

But what about nouns? Please tell me that nouns are useful! Yes, they have their place observes Zinsser: “After verbs, plain nouns are your strongest tools; they resonate with emotion.”[4] So Jesus put nouns in their place when he promised: “I am going . . . to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Active verbs first; plain nouns second: That’s Writing 101. The Creator said so.

[1] William Zinsser, On Writing Well (NY: HarperCollins, 2006), 68.
[2] John Tierney, Speaking of Journalism (NY: HarperCollins, 1994), edited by William Zinsser, 1.
[3] Zinsser, 68.
[4] Zinsser, 238.

Restore Us, O God!

2011-02-09T13:39:00.000-08:00

Some Christian hymns have memorable refrains. I’m sure you know the titles associated with these choruses:
“Then sings my soul . . . .”
“O come, let us adore him . . . .”
“Amazing love! How can it be . . . ?”
“Lift high the cross . . . .”

Refrains in Hebrew poetry also stay with us. Consider these examples:
“The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46: 7, 11).
“Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth” (Psalm 57:5, 11).
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind” (Psalm 107:8, 15, 21, 31).
“His love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1-4, 29; Psalm 136:1-26).

I have known those passages for years. Recently I noticed a beautiful refrain I hadn't seen before.

Psalm 80 seemed unfamiliar until I came to the phrase, “make your face shine on us,” from Aaron’s blessing in Numbers 6. That expression is part of a recurring prayer in Psalm 80: “Restore us, O God; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” I noticed that, with each repetition, the author added a word to the first phrase. So, “Restore us, O God,” in verse 3, became “Restore us, O God Almighty” in verse 7, and “Restore us, O LORD God Almighty” in verse 19.

That threefold refrain fed my soul. Even the first phrase quieted my mind and helped me to concentrate on God. It challenged me to consider the full message of the psalm.

Yet I wondered if this prayer is appropriate for followers of Jesus Christ. If we have been rescued by Jesus, should we ask God to save us again—or to keep saving us? But this refrain called out to me. It comforted me. I wrote in my journal, “What a wonderful request—a calming refrain, a reassuring truth.”

I concluded that this refrain is a marvelous Christian prayer. We have been rescued by God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13-14); yet we are still in exile in this world. We long to be restored to a Garden of Eden. So we have been saved from the dominion of darkness, we are being saved for eternal life, and we will be saved when we enter God’s presence through death or at the Parousia.

Then I wondered why the refrain occurs so randomly in Psalm 80. We are used to choruses coming at predictable times. I discovered that this refrain marks the psalm's structure. The poet calls out for help in verses 1-2, expresses grief in verses 4-6, and recalls Israel’s story in verses 8-18.

First the poet appeals earnestly to the Shepherd of Israel, the one who led and protected Rachel’s children.[1] God is alive in his temple in Jerusalem. He sits enthroned between the cherubim. So the singer cries out: “Shine forth. Awaken your might. Come and save us.”

Then he laments God’s treatment of his own people. How long will your anger smolder against their prayers? Sorrow is their daily bread. They drink tears of grief. You humbled them before their neighbors; their enemies mock them to their hearts’ content.[2]

Finally the poet recalls Israel’s history starting at the Exodus. The LORD transplanted his vine after clearing the ground. It took root and filled the land. The vineyard overshadowed even the mighty cedars. It extended to the Mediterranean Sea and as far as the Euphrates River.[3] So the poet asks a troubling question: “Why have you broken down the vineyard’s walls so that all who pass by pick its grapes?” The prophet Isaiah gives God’s answer: What more could I have done? When I looked for good grapes, it yielded only bad?[4]

The writer knows that the vine has been destroyed; people have perished. Yet he expresses hope. His prayer sounds like the refrain: “Return to us, O God Almighty! Look down from heaven and see! Watch over this vine.”[5] He pleads for the LORD’s hand to rest on one at his right side, the son of man he raised up for himself..[6] The poet longs for the people to be faithful to the LORD. “Revive us, and we will call on your name.”

As I ponder Psalm 80, I realize afresh that it is a significant Christian prayer. The refrain aptly reminds me of it all. When I pray, “Restore us, O God,” I give thanks for Jesus, the man at the LORD’s right hand. He is the son of man the LORD raised up for himself. I give thanks that He is the true vine. When I pray, “Restore us, O God,” I ask the Shepherd of Israel to restore his whole flock to faithful fellowship with the LORD God Almighty.

[1] Derek Kidner, Psalms 73 – 150: Commentary on Books III – IV of the Psalms (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1975), 289. See Genesis 46:19f.
[2] Adapted from the New International Version and The New English Bible
[3] As noted in the NIV
[4] See Isaiah 5:4 and Kidner, 291.
[5] Verse 14 adapted from the NIV
[6] Verse 17

Imagine Psalm 107

2011-01-26T05:35:00.000-08:00

I still have the children’s Bible my maternal grandparents gave me on March 23, 1955. What was so special about that day? It was too early to be Easter Sunday. Besides, March 23 fell on a Wednesday that year. So why did my grandparents give me a Bible, mid-week, more than five months before my fifth birthday?

I’ll probably never know; but the important thing was that the Bible had pictures mixed in with the text. As I look at those pictures today, they aren’t anything special. But those illustrations were an important part of my childhood education. I looked at them a lot, especially during worship services that were long and uninteresting to me. I escaped by studying the details of the Garden of Eden, David and Goliath, or Daniel in the Lions’ Den.

Pictures have communicated God’s story for centuries. Yet, most illustrated Bibles don’t include pictures from a large portion of the Old Testament, particularly the psalms. Take Psalm 107 as an example. I wonder if it has ever been expressed as a picture book. It has enough images to keep a curious kid attentive for hours.

Imagine Psalm 107 as a picture book. It begins with an Introduction that conveys the purpose of the psalm: to give those whom God has rescued a place to tell their story—to give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever (vv. 1-3). An Afterword counsels the wise to be attentive and to meditate on the great love of the Lord (vs. 43).

The illustrations begin by portraying poor souls wandering in wastelands, not finding a city where they might settle. There are people sitting in darkness and in the deepest gloom. Prisoners suffer in iron chains for their rebellion against the words of God. Some, who turned into fools through their disobedience, undergo affliction. Sailors in ships and merchants on mighty waters are overwhelmed by storms. You couldn’t find better material for an illustrator.

Naturally, all of these poor souls cry out to the Lord in their trouble. Every time, and without exception, the Lord saves the distressed from their misery. So they are to give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind.

The illustrator shows people giving thanks—for the Lord satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. The Lord breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. The artist portrays the redeemed giving thank offerings and singing songs of joy. Can you picture God’s people exalting the Lord in the assembly, praising him in the council of the elders?

Near the end (vv. 33-42), the psalmist stops the pattern of disaster, plea, deliverance and thanksgiving to make the point that the Lord is sovereign over all the ups and downs of life. Again, the illustrator has powerful images to work with: deserts, parched ground, fruitful lands, flowing springs, sowed fields and planted vineyards.

Can you imagine a book like this for children? You might be right; they wouldn’t understand it. Besides, adults would be uncomfortable with kids looking at pictures of gloom and doom. But the images of people crying out for help, receiving the Lord’s deliverance and giving thanks to Him would feed their souls. Some of them would meditate on the pictures, hours at a time, and give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

The Truth Will Set You Free

2011-01-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

© 2010 Stan Bohall
All Rights Reserved.

It may be difficult to find a better story than the film Amistad to illustrate Jesus statement, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The story is loosely based on historical events that began in January 1839 in West Africa. There, a group of native Africans was taken by force and transported to the Spanish colony of Cuba via the Portuguese slave ship Tecora.

In Havana, the prisoners were falsely classified as Cuban-born slaves and sold to plantation owners, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez. As Ruiz and Montez were transporting the “slaves” aboard the schooner La Amistad, a 25-year-old Mendi African known as Cinque, led his fellow prisoners in a violent mutiny, successfully taking control of the vessel.[1] The Africans ordered Ruiz and Montez to sail east to Africa; but the Spaniards secretly changed course to return to Cuba, or at least to the southern coast of the United States.

After several weeks at sea, the weather-beaten La Amistad arrived at the tip of Long Island where it was seized by the American naval brig Washington. The commander took custody of the schooner and of the Africans on board. He and his crew transported them to the state of Connecticut, where slavery was technically legal, and presented a claim for salvage of the vessel, the cargo and the Africans. Six other parties also petitioned the court for custody of the African prisoners. The subsequent court proceedings, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, provide the core drama for the film.

For me, one of the most interesting aspects of the film is its portrayal of Christianity. Early in the film, a group of Christians approaches the prison housing the Africans. Two of the prisoners, Cinque and Yamba, observe the Christians kneeling and singing “Amazing Grace,” and wonder aloud if those people might be entertainers; but “why do they look so miserable?”[2]

Later, as the prisoners make their way in shackles toward the courthouse, Cinque says to Yamba, “Look, it’s those miserable-looking people again.” One of the activists places his hand on Yamba’s shoulder and says, “God’s blessing on you this morning.” Yamba shouts back in his own language, “I’m not afraid of you, or your medicine.” The man extends a Bible to Yamba and says, “Yes. You place your hand on this book, and I’ll pray for you.” Yamba yanks the Bible away from him, gives him a scowl and proceeds into the courthouse.[3]

Almost an hour later in the film, as testimony in the trial reaches a critical point, Cinque notices Yamba concentrating on the illustrations in the Bible he was given.[4] Then, having returned to their prison to await the verdict, Cinque again observes Yamba studying his Bible and comments, “You don’t have to pretend to be interested in that. Nobody’s watching but me.” Yamba responds, “I’m not pretending. I’m beginning to understand it.”

So he proceeds to show Cinque the pictures while providing his own commentary on fourteen of the illustrations.[5] During that conversation, the film also shows the judge praying in a church. That scene and the one that follows, a Via Dolorosa for the prisoners,[6] beautifully illustrate the Christian story.

As Yamba shows Cinque the Bible illustrations, he begins with the Hebrew experience, explaining, “Their people have suffered more than ours. Their lives were full of suffering.” Then, turning to the nativity scene, Yamba expresses, “Then he was born and everything changed.” So Cinque asks, “Who is he?” Pointing at Jesus’ halo Yamba responds, “I don’t know, but everywhere he goes he is followed by the sun.”

After several illustrations of Jesus’ ministry, Yamba says, “But then something happened. He was captured and accused of some crime.” Looking puzzled Cinque asserts, “He must have done something.” Yamba responds, “Why? What did we do?” Yamba then explains, “Whatever it was, it was serious enough to kill him for it. Do you want to see how they killed him?” Cinque nods in assent, so Yamba turns to the picture of the crucifixion of Jesus and the two thieves. Cinque responds, “This is just a story, Yamba.”

Yamba replies, “But look. That’s not the end of it. His people took his body down from this…thing…this…” and draws the shape of a cross in the air. Continuing to flip pages, Yamba says, “They took him in a cave. They wrapped him in a cloth like we do. They thought he was dead, but he appeared before his people again and spoke to them. Then, finally, he rose into the sky. This is where the soul goes when you die. This is where we’re going when they kill us. It doesn’t look so bad.” Yamba seems to display an expression of hope.

Amistad then shifts focus from Jesus to a prodigious display of the Cross of Jesus. The emphasis on the Cross begins as Yamba draws its shape in the air for Cinque.[7] Then we see the judge making the sign of the cross as he prays before a crucifix. Finally, Yamba flips to the picture of the three empty crosses as the judge rises from prayer, a large crucifix shown behind him.

There are several more crosses displayed during the Via Dolorosa scene: Two women extend them in a gesture of prayer, each of five nuns makes the sign of the cross and Yamba takes note of three masts in the harbor that remind him of the empty crosses he had seen in his Bible. The producers of Amistad do not want us to miss the significance of the Cross in this story.

During those scenes, heaven and earth meet. Time and eternity merge. Grace happens. Both Yamba and Judge Coglin experience a supernatural encounter with truth who is Jesus, the One who suffered and died on a cross though he committed no crime.

Yamba encountered the truth and was freed from his natural constraints to become a follower of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 61:1-3 and Luke 4:18-19). Interestingly, two books, based on the screenplay by David Franzoni, portray Yamba as becoming a baptized Christian.[8] Perhaps the screenplay included Yamba’s conversion that didn’t survive the film editor’s cut.

Judge Coglin encountered the truth and was freed from the shackles of the Van Buren administration to administer justice for the prisoners (Isaiah 58:6). Delivering the verdict was an immense challenge for the judge, for his manner as he walked to the bench, his demeanor while delivering the verdict and his facial expressions after he completed his judgment are those of one who had walked the Via Dolorosa.[9]

Yet, the prisoners’ quest for freedom was not over, for President Martin Van Buren appealed the case to the Supreme Court. There, former President John Quincy Adams argued in behalf of the prisoners acknowledging the truth on which Judge Coglin had based his decision: The prisoners had been born in Africa and therefore were illegally taken from their homes. Adams proceeded to argue, on the basis of the Declaration of Independence, that all humans are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.[10] Adam’s argument at the conclusion of the film is compelling rhetoric.

Though the experience of Yamba and Judge Coglin encountering truth is fictitious, it could have happened. That sort of thing takes place all the time. Heaven and earth meet. Time and eternity merge. Grace happens. Many discover the truth that sets them free. The truth is Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified though he committed no crime.

For Personal Reflection
1. Read John 8:30-36 and consider the context of Jesus statement, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” N. T. (Tom) Wright has a timely exposition of this passage in his book John for Everyone, Part 1 Chapters 1-10.

2. How does reading John 8:30-36 influence your understanding of Jesus’ statement, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”?

3. What issues of freedom have you dealt with? How has the truth set you free?

[1] For those who haven’t seen the film, I’ll mention that it has an R rating largely because of the graphic violence in the first scene.
[2] 35:35 – 36:27. The portrayal of Christians in Amistad is confusing. Several of the Christians in this scene, and in the scene described in the next paragraph, display crosses. Protestants in that era would not have carried crosses. Supposing that they are Roman Catholic Christians is also doubtful, for they would not have given Yamba a Bible.
[3] 39:50 – 40:27
[4] 1:32:06 – 1:32:19
[5] 1:35:41 – 1:39:43. Is it a coincidence that this number matches the fourteen Stations of the Cross?
[6] 1:39:43 – 1:40:53
[7] 1:38:29 – 1:38:32
[8] Amistad: A Junior Novel by Joyce Annette Barnes, Based on the Screenplay by David Franzoni, 92 and 119; Amista: a Novel by Alex Pate, Based on the Screenplay by David Franzoni and Steven Zaillian, 257 and 310-312.
[9] The verdict in shown in Chapter 14, 1:40:54 – 1:45:40
[10] 2:08:27 – 2:18:44

A Bundle of Beliefs

2010-11-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

Human beings are bundles of beliefs. Beliefs are important to us, so we often verbalize them with statements like, “I believe in loving my neighbor,” “I try to tell the truth,” “It’s more blessed to give than to receive,” or even, “I believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth . . . .” Yet, a more accurate way of conveying our beliefs is through our behavior. The film Monsters, Inc. illustrates this truth. In fact, it’s a bundle of beliefs.

You may be thinking, “Monsters, Inc. is a children’s story. There’s nothing there for me. It’s mere entertainment.” That was my attitude the first time I watched the film. Then I witnessed the conclusion to the story and my opinion changed dramatically.

Spoiler alert: I will be discussing details about most of the film. If you haven’t seen Monsters, Inc., you may want to watch it before finishing this review; but rest assured, I’m not going to give away the ending.

For those who haven’t seen the film and wish to continue reading, here’s a quick summary. The story takes place in Monsteropolis, a city filled with happy monsters. Most of the action takes place in the municipal power plant called Monsters, Incorporated. Its workers enter our world to tap a renewable energy source, the screams of little children. Yet there is a growing energy crisis in Monsteropolis. It exists for two reasons: Children aren’t scared as easily as they used to be, and their monster-scarers are becoming more fearful.

So let’s consider some of the beliefs expressed in Monsters, Inc.

Belief #1: The employees at Monsters, Inc. believe that human children are toxic. The source for this conviction is Mr. Waternoose, the CEO of the company. In the opening scene Waternoose tells one of his student monsters, “There’s nothing more toxic or deadly than a human child. A single touch could kill you.” One of the film’s co-directors commented in a bonus feature, “A little kid getting into the monsters’ world would be like a cylinder of pure uranium somehow getting out of a nuclear reactor and tumbling into our world.” So when a scarer named George Sanderson returns from a child’s room with a little girl’s sock stuck to his back, another worker hits the panic button prompting a 2319 Red Alert. Child Detection Agency workers rush to the scene, destroy the sock and decontaminate George. Thus we are duly prepared for the reaction another child receives when she enters the monsters’ world.

Belief #2: James P. Sullivan (a.k.a. Sulley) and Mike Wazowski believe that a human child, who comes into their lives, is toxic. Sulley freaks out when he meets a little girl who follows him from her room onto the Monsters, Inc. scare floor. He quickly returns her to her room, but, like a boomerang, she keeps coming back. Then Sulley places her in a duffel bag and takes her to a restaurant, where Mike and his girlfriend are having dinner, to ask for Mike’s help. Sulley and Mike’s panic quickly spreads to the others in the restaurant, for the child has escaped from the duffel bag. Someone calls the Child Detection Agency. The CDA tries to locate the child, but is unsuccessful. Whenever she is spotted by restaurant diners, pandemonium breaks out. The child even yells “Boo” to an assembled crowd which disperses in fear. Sulley and Mike have no choice but to take the child home with them that evening. So their lives are totally disrupted as they wonder what to do with this outrageous threat to their otherwise happy and well ordered lives.

Belief #3: Some unseen force believes that the child belongs with Sulley and Mike. The little girl’s staying power is truly mysterious. Until the proper time, some circumstance or force always prevents her exit from Monsteropolis and her detection by the authorities. Yet there doesn’t seem to be any intentionality on the part of the child. She is simply an innocent little girl. Monsters, Inc. is fantasy literature, so we naturally suspend our disbelief and accept the child’s uncanny ability to stay in this alternative world and to remain incognito. I can only conclude that some behind-the-scenes force wants her to accomplish some predetermined purpose.

Belief #4: Sulley eventually believes that the little girl is not toxic. After spending an evening with the child, Sulley says, “Hey, Mike, this might sound crazy, but I don’t think that kid’s dangerous.” Sully’s behavior changes accordingly. He is devoted to the child and becomes an affectionate uncle-figure, always protecting her. He even gives her the appropriate and endearing name, Boo.

Belief #5: Sulley and Mike believe that laughter is more powerful than screams. Whenever Boo cries, she produces manageable levels of energy; but when she laughs, she blows the circuits. Sulley and Mike observe this and use it to their advantage later in the film.

Belief #6: Mr. Waternoose believes that his company is of utmost importance. After the George Sanderson contamination episode, Mr. Waternoose is discouraged about his company’s misfortune. So he says to Sulley, “James, this company has been in my family for three generations. I would do anything to keep it from going under.” At that point, Sulley had no idea what Mr. Waternoose’s belief would mean for him and for the company.

Belief #7: Near the end of the story, Sulley believes that he has ruined Monsters, Inc. Mr. Waternoose shouts, “I hope you’re happy, Sullivan! You’ve destroyed this company. Monsters, Incorporated is dead! Where will everyone get their scream now?! The energy crisis will only get worse because of you!” That is perfectly believable to Sulley, for he has long entertained doubts about harboring Boo. That first night, when he and Mike took Boo to their apartment, Sulley had yelled out in frustration, “How could I do this? How could I be so stupid? This could destroy the company.”

Belief #8: Roz, the Dispatch Manager at Monsters, Inc., believes in hushing things up. So, after Boo is sent back to her world and after Boo’s door is shredded, Roz tells Sulley and Mike, “None of this ever happened, gentlemen. And I don’t want to see any paperwork on this.”

Belief # 9: Sulley eventually believes in the power of joy. After Boo has safely returned to her world, Mike and Sulley walk out of the plant with Sulley looking dejected. So Mike says, “Hey, you all right? Come on, pal, cheer up, we did it! We got Boo home. Ah, sure, we put the factory in the toilet, and . . . hundreds of people will be out of work now. Not to mention the angry mob that’ll come after us when there’s no more power, but, hey . . . at least we had some laughs, right?” That word “laughs” gives Sulley an idea. It gives him hope and a new belief.

Belief #10: Mike Wazowski believes that Sulley and Boo should be reunited. I’ll not explain the details of this belief because I promised not to reveal the conclusion to the story. But rest assured, Mike turned his belief into reality.

For Personal Reflection
1. How have your beliefs changed over the years? What factors influenced those changes?

2. Consider your behavior for one full day. What beliefs did you express through actions?

3. What beliefs would you consider changing? How would your behavior be altered in accordance with your new beliefs?

4. Judging from your actions, how do your professed beliefs match up with your real beliefs?

Theophanies and The Shack

2010-10-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

Since my last blog about The Shack, I’ve read several reviews of it. One by Katherine Jeffrey, entitled "I Am Not Who You Think I Am," ran in the January/February 2010 issue of Books&Culture. One statement there struck a chord with me: “Theophany is strictly circumscribed in Christian literary tradition." Thus over the years religious authors have not been allowed to include speeches by God in their works. Jeffrey discusses some minor exceptions to that rule in Medieval literature and some egregious violations in recent films such as O, God!, Dogma and Evan Almighty.

I had an encounter with this principle in a preaching class in seminary. One of my sermons featured a dialogue with God in which I played His part as well as the person to whom He was speaking. Though I certainly tried to make my words consistent with the scriptures, they were not from holy writ. I foolishly thought that my dialogue would be an effective rhetorical tool; my preaching professor thought otherwise. The message I received was that I should never play the part of God in a sermon or anywhere else for that matter. It is not a safe or prudent practice.

When I read Jeffrey's dictum about theophanies in literature, I thought back to my seminary experience. I also recalled my reaction, a few years later, witnessing Morgan Freeman play the part of God in Bruce Almighty. Horrors! More recently, I admit that I have become desensitized and watched Evan Almighty without my previous strong aversion. Now, after reading Jeffrey's reminder, my appropriate sensitivity has been restored.

As Jeffrey points out, "The Shack breaks all the rules." "There are no significant Christian literary precedents for Young's exuberant representation of the Godhead." In case you haven't read the book, I note that all three persons of the Trinity have much to say in it. I consider the dialogues by Papa, Jesus and Sarayu with Mack to be one man's attempt to give greater weight to his own beliefs about "the problem of pain." He does so by using characters who represent God, and that is dangerous business.

If Young were here he might respond with a query about what Lewis was doing with Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia. Aren't Aslan's appearances theophanies? I would have to admit that Lewis came as close as he could to the line without crossing it. Here is what Lewis had to say about Aslan in a letter to some fifth grade students: "You are mistaken when you think that everything in the books 'represents' something in this world. Things do that in The Pilgrim's Progress but I'm not writing in that way. I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia': I said 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as He became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.' If you think about it, you will see that it is quite a different thing." Lewis's success has been verified by millions of readers, both by those who have seen resemblances to Christ in Aslan as well as those who haven't.

Lewis did something similar in the Chronicles to what Young has done in The Shack, but Lewis remained within bounds of Christian orthodoxy both in method and in message. In fact, I consider The Chronicles of Narnia to be so effective and accurate that they are able to function as a Mere Christianity for younger readers.

There are many vantage points from which to evaluate The Shack. The one I have noted from Jeffrey's review is enough to make my theological Geiger counter (as another seminary professor used to say) tick loudly and clearly.

"The Gift of Love"

2010-10-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

One of the blessings of listening to classical music stations is that they often broadcast some of the most beautiful music ever written and performed for the glory of God.

I was inspired to write this short entry because of one such blessing. My favorite station played a beautiful performance of "The Gift of Love." The sacred text was inspired by 1 Corinthians 13; the tune is a beautiful English melody. What a wonderful example of God's common grace: that I would be able to worship God via a secular, publicly funded, music station.

Here are the lyrics to the hymn "The Gift of Love."

Though I may speak with bravest fire, / and have the gift to all inspire, / and have not love, my words are vain, / as sounding brass, and hopeless gain.

Though I may give all I possess, / and striving so my love profess, / but not be given by love within, / the profit soon turns strangely thin.

Come, Spirit, come, our hearts control, / our spirits long to be made whole. / Let inward love guide every deed; / by this we worship, and are freed.

I wish I could replicate the music here, but I'll simply refer you to my favorite hymnal Worship & Rejoice selection #397 or you can order the album, titled "Our Love" from Amazon.com.

The Shack and the Search

2010-10-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am in the middle of my first and, I hope, only reading of The Shack by William P. Young. I will suspend judgment until I finish the book--but I am gravely suspicious. I also have been in search of a review of the book by an orthodox seasoned literary critic from an Evangelical liberal arts college. Spending a few minutes searching the Internet, so far, has yielded only sympathetic reviews from younger, less qualified folks than the type previously mentioned.

But while searching for such reviews I landed on a sight I am very interested in. It's called The Search written by Brett McCracken, a self-proclaimed Christian Hipster. I was drawn-in by his review of Toy Story 3 which I found to be convincing and well written. Then I took Brett's test (on his Christian Hipster Bookshelf page) to see if I am a Christian Hipster. I didn't pass the test but I have read, and regularly recommend, several of the books on his list. I would use a more conservative, yet also easily misunderstood, title to describe myself: Christian Humanist.

Then, by rummaging around Brett's sight some more, I discovered that he wrote the cover story for the September 2010 issue of Christianity Today titled "The Ironic World of Hipster Faith." I was initially offended by the cover of that issue (see above) especially since I have recently been drawn to, dare I say it, the veneration of Christians Icons. But now that I know a little more about the author, I'm tempted to take a new look at the article.

I realize that this blog post is not focused. It's very "stream of consciousness." But I have a purpose: I want to point out that I have added The Search to my Recommended Sites. I also am interested in finding helpful reviews of The Shack. So please let me know if you are aware of any reviews that 1) consider the literary value of the book, 2) consider the theology of the book from the perspective of Christian history, and 3) are written by people over forty years of age.

"Remember, All Music Was Once New"

2010-10-07T04:29:00.000-07:00

One of the daily segments I listen to on WXXI, my favorite National Public Radio station, is a program called the Composer's Datebook. It is a daily two-minute summary of significant events in the history of musical composition. As the broadcast comes to an end I know the announcer will remind us that "all music was once new."

I often think that would be a good slogan for church leaders to repeat often, or print in the bulletin, to ward off negative attitudes among those who complain simply because we're singing a hymn or chorus they haven't heard before.

Some Initial Thoughts on Flannery O'Connor's Fiction

2010-09-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I completed my reading of Flannery O’Connor’s fiction by finishing her second novel, The Violent Bear It Away. Having spent the last few months immersed in the work of this gifted author, I would like to express some impressions of O’Connor’s work.

Before I do that I need to acknowledge some sources of inspiration and instruction that have come my way. First, a spiritual mentor, Dr. Timothy Hoffman, gave me the initial inspiration to read O’Connor. He also gave me some key insights and symbols to look for as I read the short stories and novels.

Then, Dr. Ralph C. Wood’s wonderful literary analysis of O’Connor’s works has been extremely helpful. In Flannery O’Connor and the Christ-Haunted South Wood weaves most of her stories into his analysis, and in Literature and Theology Wood includes a valuable essay on the short story “The River.”

Two other on-line resources have also been helpful: “The Iconographic Fiction and Christian Humanism of Flannery O'Connor” by Vigen Guroian, and “The Theology of Flannery O’Connor: Biblical Recapitulations in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor” by Jordan Cofer.

So here are some initial thoughts:

1. O’Connor’s fiction has been described as grotesque, yet it is remarkably beautiful.

2. Even though O’Connor was a Roman Catholic, most of her characters are not.

3. Watch for recurring symbolism, especially the sun, treetops, and (as we say today) African Americans.

4. Pay attention to allusions to the scriptures and to biblical characters. O'Connor has included some surprising symbols that represent our Savior.

5. Certainly the supernatural element is present throughout the corpus.

6. There is almost always a shocking event that changes everything for the main character and, therefore, for the reader.

7. Warning: You could experience a baptism of your imagination when you read O'Connor's stories.

8. Don’t be deterred by some who would discourage you from reading the longer works: Wise Blood and The Violent Bear It Away.

Here’s one more on-line resource that I'll recommend: The Flannery O'Connor Repository titled The Comforts of Home. Within that website you are well advised to visit the Books section.

Who We Are

2010-09-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

Quest Ministries is a speaking, teaching and writing ministry led by the Reverend Stan Bohall.

The ministry focuses on beauty expressed in literature and film. Chief among our literary interests are C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, the Inklings, and their spiritual descendants. Our goal is to help people recognize and respond meaningfully to beauty in nature and in the arts. Our response to beauty is an indication of the human desire for God. C. S. Lewis believed that we can infer the existence of God and the existence of heaven through encounters with beauty. Indeed, most of what Lewis wrote was aimed at arousing our desire for heaven or showing us how to prepare to live in the land we long for.

“I love the Good News of Jesus Christ. It has become the theme of my life. This ministry came as a result of my own long quest to discover how I could have a relationship with God. It also came as a result of my experience of training others to share the Good News. Quest Ministries seeks to awaken people's awareness of their quest for God. I believe an approach like this will be profitable not only for my ministry but also for others in the Church of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. Stan Bohall)

The Essence of Quest Ministries

2010-09-14T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Longing
"He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

“You have made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you.” Saint Augustine

“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end…. There was once in man a true happiness of which now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present. But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.” Blaise Pascal

“C.S. Lewis believed that every desire is at its root a desire for heaven…. We are all pilgrims in search of the Celestial City: some lost and looking for joy in all the wrong places, some saved with eyes fixed on the heavenly prize, some sidetracked on dead-end streets and byways — but all longing for heaven, whether we know it or not. Nearly all of Lewis's works have the aim of arousing this desire for heaven or showing us how to live in proper anticipation of our true home.” Wayne Martindale

“Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world.” C.S. Lewis

The Evidence
C.S. Lewis not only awakens our desire for heaven, he argues convincingly for its existence.
Every natural desire has a corresponding object that can satisfy that desire. “A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water.”

There exists within each of us a desire that nothing in our experience can satisfy. Lewis says it's the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell. “We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it….”

Therefore there exists something outside our experience which can satisfy the desire. “But if it should really become manifest — if there ever came an echo that did not die away but swelled into the sound itself — you would know it. Beyond all possibility of doubt you would say ‘Here at last is the thing I was made for’.”

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in.” Jewel, the Unicorn in "The Last Battle" by C.S. Lewis

The Response
C.S. Lewis observed that human beings respond to this longing in one of three ways.

The fool's way is to seek experience after experience without satisfaction. “He goes on all his life thinking that if only he tried another woman, or went for a more expensive holiday, or whatever it is, then, this time, he really would catch the mysterious something we are all after.”

The sensible person's way is to become disillusioned, giving up any hope of satisfaction. “He soon decides that the whole thing was moonshine…. And so he settles down and learns not to expect too much and represses the part of himself which used, as he would say, ‘to cry for the moon.’ ”

The Christian way says, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

“Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing…. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country…. I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country….”

Communicating Christian Truth

2010-09-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

At Quest Ministries we advocate a cognitive-imaginative approach for sharing Christian truth. This way of communicating takes into account both the cognitive (left brain) way of learning and the imaginative (right brain) method of discerning truth. The cognitive path is seen in the Apostle Paul's presentation of Christian belief in his New Testament letters (e.g. Romans, Galatians, etc.). The imaginative approach is seen in the great stories of the Bible like Daniel in the Lion's Den or David and Goliath. Even though most people show a preference for one of these ways of learning, all of us need to exercise both hemispheres of the brain to fully apprehend truth. Indeed, the Apostle Paul used images (a building, a body, a race, etc.) to illustrate truth in his letters, and the stories of the Bible often used cognitive statements to interpret images.

I have observed that too many strategies for communicating Christianity emphasize the cognitive over the imaginative. This limits our communication in two ways. First, all of us need both cognitive and imaginative types of information. Then, those who have an imaginative learning-style have to translate the cognitive into the imaginative on their own.

In an interview in Mars Hill Audio, novelist Larry Woiwode points out that within Christianity, we find those who live by argument only (the cognitive). He says that if you look at Scripture, you will see that the Bible itself is founded on great stories (the imaginative). It begins with some of the most exciting stories around. Those stories are picked up and told in brief form by Jesus Christ when he appears. Then Paul, James, and others emphasize the theological fine-points of those stories for the church. Woiwode believes we need to take our cue from the Bible by emphasizing story-telling over carefully honed arguments.

It is clear from his writing style that C.S. Lewis believed that a blend of intellect and imagination was an effective way to persuade. In fact, this was one of Lewis's unique contributions to understanding Christian truth. C.S. Carnell has observed that neither George MacDonald nor Charles Williams was able to integrate intellect and imagination as effectively as Lewis.

Lewis uses the imaginative in his expository works. One of my favorite examples is the chapter entitled "Heaven" in The Problem of Pain, which is full of exquisite imagery. Lewis suggests that your desire for heaven is evident in the books you love, which are bound together by a secret thread. It can be seen in a landscape that seems to embody what you have been looking for all your life. Your hobbies (the smell of cut wood in the workshop or the clap-clap of the water against the boat's side) also give witness of your desire, as does a friend who has some inkling of that something you were born desiring.

Lewis also uses argumentation in his fantasy. Probably the best-known example is the discussion Professor Kirk has with Peter and Susan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe regarding Lucy's excursion into Narnia. Here the professor uses the same argument that Lewis used in Mere Christianity to establish that Jesus Christ is God to show that Lucy is telling the truth. Lucy is either lying, mentally ill or telling the truth. There is no other option.

Quest Ministries is developing a strategy by which individuals and churches can learn to use the cognitive-imaginative approach for sharing Christian truth. For more information, please contact us at s.bohall@verizon.net.

Re-Enchanted Every Morning

2010-02-14T03:36:00.000-08:00

I plan to be re-enchanted every morning. That is, I put myself in a place and a frame of mind in which I can be re-enchanted. This belief and practice comes from several sources. Go with me as I bring them to light.

In his essay “Talking about Bicycles,” C.S. Lewis explains that there are four ages in our attitude about things: unenchantment, enchantment, disenchantment, and re-enchantment. Lewis uses a bicycle as his example. Unenchantment is the time in one’s childhood prior to knowing that bicycles exist. Enchantment happens as one dreams of riding a bicycle and learns how to ride one. Disenchantment takes place when a bicycle becomes merely a mode of transportation. Re-enchantment occurs when we are again (from time to time) “transported” into the realm of our first exhilaration of “bicycle-riding.” (Present Concerns, 67ff)

Certainly marriage is a more pertinent example. Unenchantment is the time prior to being attracted to the opposite sex. Enchantment happens during adolescence when one dreams of “having and holding” that special person. Disenchantment takes place when one’s spouse ceases to be the person of one’s dreams. Re-enchantment happens when we again (from time to time) are “transported” into the realm of “beholding our beloved.”

Our relationship with God is another case in point. The four stages are certainly identifiable. Enchantment happens when one has a vision of the beauty of God that leads to an intimate relationship with Him. Re-enchantment occurs when we again (from time to time) are transported into the realm of our first delight in the beauty of God.

Human beings are naturally in the state of disenchantment. That is, we are not always having beatific visions of God, of one’s spouse, or (even) of bicycles. Yet we try to regularly re-enchant our world. For example at Christmas time and on birthdays, “we take off the price tag and wrap a commodity in tissue paper to remove it from the world of market-value and exchange; we turn it into a present, and thus restore it to the sacred: we enchant it, as it were.” (Allison Milbank, Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians, 118)

This world is also a disenchanting place. Sadly, it doesn't take long for my re-enchantments to be broken by daily flopsam and jetsam. Yet the world is an enchanted place because it is filled with God’s presence. We need eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to understand. We can put ourselves in the frame of mind in which re-enchantment can happen. That is what I endeavor to do every morning.

For me, the possibility of being re-enchanted is enhanced by reading something of the Christian mythopoeic writers. A short list of those mythmakers includes George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, J. R. R. Tolkien, and C. S. Lewis. All of them invite us to go to a place where re-enchantment can happen.

Alison Milbank in her book Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians explains how the re-enchantment process works. She observes that fairy-tales are enchanting. I will use the well known example of Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as my example.

According to Milbank, Fairy-tales work in us in four ways. First, they estrange us from the familiar. In LWW Lucy is transported from mid-twentieth-century England to the land of Narnia. As we travel with Lucy and her siblings, the myriad ways Narnia is different than our world become obvious.

Fairy-tales also engage us in that alienation through fear and the grotesque. As we enter Narnia with Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy we experience their fear as they enter a strange and wonderful world. One of our first glimpses of the grotesque comes when Edmund “happens upon” the White Witch. She is both intriguing and enticing. It doesn’t take us long to be drawn in and to accommodate to the strangeness of that world.

Fairy-tales restore us to the real by enchantment. Lewis wants his readers to become enchanted in the world of Narnia. As soon as one adventure ends we are eager to start another.

Fairy-tales allow us to receive the world back as a gift. Lewis certainly hoped that, once we have inhabited the land of Narnia, we will forever view our world differently. I can attest that Chesterton’s response to fairy-tales is also mine. “It was good to be in a fairy tale. The test of all happiness is gratitude; and I felt grateful, though I hardly knew to whom.” (Milbank, 121)

So how can I be re-enchanted every morning? I have long been enchanted by the fairy-tales of MacDonald, Chesterton, Williams, Tolkien, and Lewis. They have taken me to the perilous realm and back again. What’s more, there are many accomplished scholars and writers (my latest discovery was Alison Milbank) who have also gone into fairyland. They serve as marvelous tour guides as I am open to re-enchantment. Their good writing is nearly as enchanting as the masters about whom they write.

I plan to be re-enchanted every morning. To one degree or another (with a little help from caffeine and my favorite classical music station) it happens.

Meditation in a Toolshed

2010-02-03T06:30:00.000-08:00

I recently discovered a wonderful little gem in The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader." In Chapter Twelve titled "The Dark Island," the voyagers are immersed in Darkness with little hope of escape. The narrator tells us that "Lucy leaned her head on the edge of the fighting-top and whispered, 'Aslan, Aslan, if ever you loved us at all, send us help now.'"

At once, one of the crew saw a tiny speck of light ahead. As they all watched, a broad beam of light fell from it upon the ship, so the whole ship was lit up as if by a searchlight. The narrator points out that Lucy looked along the beam of light and saw something in it. At first it looked like a cross, then like an airplane, a kite, and at last Lucy realized that the beam of light was an albatross. The albatross circled around the mast three times and perched for an instant on the crest of the gilded dragon at the prow. "It called out in a strong sweet voice what seemed to be words though no one understood them." Then the albatross spread its wings and began to fly slowly ahead, as if to guide the ship out of the Darkness.

As the albatross circled the mast, it had whispered to Lucy, "Courage, dear heart." Lucy felt sure the voice was Aslan's. We are told, "and with the voice a delicious smell breathed in her face." The albatross led the voyagers out of the Darkness and into a glorious Light. The chapter is worth reading if only to experience Lewis's description of being in the sunlight.

So what was the gem I discovered? The narrator tells us that Lucy "looked along the beam" of light that flooded the ship. Here we have a case in point, an example of someone doing that which Lewis advises in his essay "Meditation in a Toolshed" published seven years before The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader," available to us in his collection of essays titled God In the Dock.

The message of Lewis's essay is easily conceptualized by reading Lucy's experience. When the crew of the Dawn Treader "looked at" the light, they saw merely a searchlight. When Lucy "looked along" the light, she saw her beloved Aslan.

The Concept

2010-02-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

Redemption

2010-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

The Fall

2009-09-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Last night my wife and I checked out Christianity Today's "The 10 Most Redeeming Films" series and discovered a film that will, no doubt, become one of my favorites. Its title is The Fall. The reason I am fascinated by the film is that, even though some scenes seemed bizarre and pointless, the film's meaning came into focus as the film ended. I'm sure I will watch the film several more times to pick up more nuances, and I will watch the special features (including two narrations) to discover some of the background, but it is enough to say for now that I was enchanted by the film.

Here's one more note. The reason we decided to see the film is that the C.T. reviewer, Brandon Fibbs, was so positive about it. This morning I reread Fibbs's review and realized that there just aren't a lot of film reviews that are as positive as that one. You also may want to check out the review from the Catholic News Service which isn't nearly as positive.

The Tale of Despereaux

2009-06-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

At some point (soon I hope) I want to write a review of The Tale of Despereaux (the book) by Kate DiCamillo. Before I do that I have to get The Tale of Despereaux (the film) out of my system.

I saw the film adaptation before I read the book. That was probably the better order for me because the original is such a delightful experience of Story. I'm tempted to call DiCamillo's work a perfect story since it embodies so many things I look for (long for) in a story. So if I had read the book first, I would have been sorely disappointed by the film.

I really appreciated the review of the film by Jeffrey Overstreet written for ChristianityToday.com. Note that I read the review after seeing the movie. Overstreet's review struck a chord by the time I began reading his second paragraph: "And now The Tale of Despereaux—or something resembling it—is a movie."

As mentioned, I'll write my own review of DiCamillo's story. In the mean time, here's a quick word to those who haven't experienced The Tale of Despereaux. Drop everything and read it. You will be enchanted and enriched by the experience if you read it in a child-like manner.

Oh, you want to know what it's about? Overstreet gives it a good quick summary. "Kate DiCamillo's book The Tale of Despereaux is an enchanting story about a mouse with the heart of a hero. Already considered a classic, this Newberry Award winner is a favorite of families and children's librarians everywhere." My final word is that child-like adults will enjoy it too.

Multiculturalism or Just a Great Read?

2009-06-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

About a dozen years ago a member of my congregation handed me a book and said, “Here, read this. It’s a great book.” Some of you know me well enough to realize that when someone insists that I read a book, I try to politely decline the opportunity. I think, “I'll choose my own books, thank you very much!” For some reason (I guess I was new to the church and didn’t want to offend the lady), I borrowed the book and read it. The Color of Water by James McBride was an inspiring and memorable story, so I’m thankful that Miriam Nassar (now deceased) urged me to read it.

A couple of weeks ago, something reminded me of McBride’s work, so I decided to read it again. You know that, depending on one’s circumstances, books can be meaningful at one time and uninteresting a few years later. But this story and the writing style were as pleasurable this time as they had been more than a decade ago. I also had the advantage, this time around, of listening to two talented performers (Andre Braugher and Lainie Kazan) read the book.

The Color of Water is the story of James McBride and his mother, Ruth McBride Jordan. The most obvious unusual nature of the story is that Ruth, the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi from Poland, married an African American from the South. So James is a product of two radically different cultures. Inevitably Ruth’s choice to live and raise her family in the African American milieu was confusing to James. So the memoir was inspired by McBride’s need to know his mother’s story. And the book became, as the subtitle reveals, “A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother.”

A second intriguing aspect of the memoir is that the chapters flip back and forth between McBride’s voice and his mother’s. Ruth’s viewpoint takes place primarily in the 1920s, 30s and 40s while her son’s perspective conveys life in 1950s, 60s, 70’s, and beyond.

There is much one can gain from reading The Color of Water. First it’s a book about family love, or affection (storge) as C. S. Lewis calls it in The Four Loves. McBride wrote in his Afterword to the Tenth Anniversary Edition, “For me, this book has always been, and will forever be, a book about a mother and her children, and how that mother raised her children with love and respect and God. About a mother’s love, a father’s love, a family love. In all the important ways, my family’s story is not unique. It plays out across the world, on every continent, in every nation, city, town, and village every day. Family love: It is firm footing, something to cling to in a frightened world that seems to spin out of control with war, turmoil, terrorism, and uncertainty. It is our highest calling and our greatest nobility.” (295)

The Color of Water is also realistic about the rejection our world dishes out. Ruth’s first words in the book are, “I’m dead.” Her Jewish family had rejected her because she married an African American. “They said kaddish and sat shiva. That’s how Orthodox Jews mourn their dead. They say prayers, turn their mirrors down, sit on boxes for seven days, and cover their heads. It’s a real workout, which is maybe why I’m not a Jew now.” (2) As a child James could see the obvious: he was black and his mother was white; but he couldn’t figure how that worked, and his mother wouldn’t explain it to him. By the time he was ten he surely noticed the stares and remarks, the glances and cackles prompted by the unusual sight of a white mother with her black children. (100)

James’ mother wanted him to receive a good education, so she sent him to a predominantly Jewish public school. Predictably James was the only black student in his fifth-grade class. Once, when his teacher read aloud from their history book’s one page summary of “Negro history,” someone in the back of the class whispered a racial slur aimed at James, prompting a ripple of tittering and giggling across the room. He reports, “I felt the blood rush to my face and sank low in my chair, seething inside, yet did nothing.” (90) Rejection hit its mark.

The Color of Water gives us the opportunity to consider multiculturalism. James clearly had no choice about his family for he was born into an interracial environment. In contrast, churches can choose to welcome people from diverse cultures. I’ll state the obvious: churches that choose to be inclusive will experience change. Prejudicial attitudes that have plagued humanity will surface, so McBride’s memoir can help us think through the issues ahead of time.

Clearly the Lord God wants the nations to worship together in peace. Solomon prayed to the Lord in anticipation of people from other lands worshiping with the people of Israel (1 Kings 8:41-43). Ruth, a Moabite woman, worshiped with Naomi (Ruth 1:16-18). Psalm 67 prays, “May all the peoples praise you!” The book of Acts graphically shows the Lord God directing early believers to welcome people from other nations (Acts chapters 10-11). Paul wrote, “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us” (Ephesians 2:14 NLT). The book of Revelation celebrates the reality of people from every tribe and language and people and nation worshiping God together in heaven.

McBride’s memoir also affirms life after death. The book begins with the death of Rachel Deborah Shilsky and chronicles her rebirth as Ruth McBride Jordan. The funniest illustration of this is McBride’s description of going out for a drive with his mother who hadn’t driven in decades. She acted like a sixteen-year-old behind the wheel for the first time. When they finally came to a stop she proclaimed, “That’s it, I quit.” McBride comments that the irony was that his mother knew how to drive before she was eighteen. “But she had left her past so far behind that she literally did not know how to drive.” (168)

And James clearly affirms that Ruth’s new life came through Jesus Christ. “Jesus gave Mommy hope. Jesus was Mommy’s salvation. Jesus pressed her forward.” It’s also true that, while McBride did not write the memoir to convert unbelievers, the work is a witness to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in his mother and in McBride himself.

While I was writing this review I had the good fortune of hearing James McBride as a guest on a public radio talk-show. The prime focus of the program was multiculturalism, but one of the listeners phoned in just to say that The Color of Water provided a pleasurable reading experience. So there’s a lot to glean from this beautiful work. The more I read it the more I feel like putting it in someone’s hand and saying, “Here, read this. It’s a great book.”

Copyright © 2009 Stan Bohall, all rights reserved

Center for Media Literacy

2009-06-10T04:04:00.000-07:00

I've added a new link in the "Sites I Recommend" section of my website. The link takes you to the Center for Media Literacy.

The Center of Media Literacy asserts that our evaluation of media should include Five Core Concepts
1. All media messages are constructed.
2. Media messages are constructed using a creative language with its own rules.
3. Different people experience the same media message differently.
4. Media have embedded values and points of view.
5. Most media messages are organized to gain profit and/or power.

These concepts lead to Five Key Questions for each person or group of people to ask when evaluating media.
1. Who created this message?
2. What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
3. How might different people understand this message differently?
4. What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?
5. Why is this message being sent?

In all honesty, I have left this element out of my analysis of films and fiction. I have asserted that human stories reflect God's Story. I haven't expressed that human authors seek to convey messages as well. I believe that God's message does shine through human stories, but we also have to deal with (not overlook, evaluate, consider the influence of) the messages presented by human authors. And many of those merely human messages are in opposition to the Christian faith.

Consider this example. The film Seven Pounds (from my perspective) powerfully conveys the human condition. Simply stated, we are broken. In the words of Ben Thomas "In seven days, God created the world. In seven seconds, I shattered mine." In fact it took our ancestors, Adam and Eve, seven seconds to shatter the paradise God had given them (and us). Part of the human condition is to consistently and unwaveringly seek to put ourselves back together again. The message of the Bible is that God sent His One and Only Son to "put us back together again." He, and only He, can remake us. Our efforts to do His job are idolatrous. So I enjoy the opportunity Seven Pounds gives me to discuss that message with people.

Having said that, it is important to recognize that the screenwriter, producer, director (and perhaps others) are seeking to convey messages through the film that are contrary to our faith. Those messages are perhaps more "in your face" than the ones I want to emphasize. So the Five Key Questions of the Center for Media Literacy are important to bring into the discussion.

Something's Wrong

2009-06-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

What's the Story About?

2009-06-03T04:19:00.000-07:00

I have been rereading Lewis's Miracles. This morning the chapter titled "The Propriety of Miracles" was next in line. There Lewis considers whether miracles fit (are consistent with) the story of the universe. In other words, do miracles make sense in the story or are they a plot device an inept author uses to get out of a hopeless muddle? Says Lewis, "Some people probably think of the Resurrection as a desperate last moment expedient to save the Hero from a situation which had got out of the Author's control."

Lewis tells us that we may set our minds at rest. If he thought miracles were like that, he would not believe in them. "If they have occurred, they have occurred because they are the very thing this universal story is about. They are not exceptions (however rarely they occur) not irrelevancies. They are precisely those chapters in this great story on which the plot turns. Death and Resurrection are what the story is about; and had we but eyes to see it, this has been hinted on every page, met us, in some disguise, at every turn, and even been muttered in conversations between such minor characters (if they are minor characters) as the vegetables."

Is it any wonder then, that death and resurrection show up in so many of our "merely" human stories? For example, Snow White, in the story that bears her name, dies (as it were) three times and rises again each time. Her third resurrection is the most meaningful and longest lasting, for the dislodging of the poison apple "happened" as a result of the Prince's great desire for her. The story ends with the marriage of Snow White and the Prince. The wedding is also the occasion of the death of Snow White's nemesis, her cruel step-mother.

Jittery Joyful Jehoshaphat

2009-05-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

Last night the Bible study I lead meditated on 2 Chronicles 20:1-30, the story of one of the greatest challenges of King Jehoshaphat's life. The text says that the Moabites and Ammonites (descendants of Lot's daughters) came to make war on Jehoshaphat. His response as the leader of the people of Israel was amazing: a model for any leader today.

Below I have provided an outline of Jehoshaphat's response. But don't rely on the outline. Read the passage for yourself and be encouraged.

1. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat that a vast army was coming against him.

2. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord.

3. Jehoshaphat prayed publicly in behalf of the people.

4. The Spirit of the lord came upon Jahaziel as he stood in the assembly. He said, "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."

5. Jehoshaphat humbly accepted the word from the Lord and led his people in worship.

6. Early in the morning Jehoshaphat led his people in worship ("Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.") and to face the enemy.

7. When they arrived at the place of battle they saw that their enemies had destroyed one another. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

8. Jehoshaphat returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. They went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lutes and trumpets.

9. The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. (The quotes are from the New International Verision)

Lloyd-Jones vs. Lewis

2009-05-19T04:28:00.000-07:00

Martin Lloyd-Jones, the great twentieth century Welsh preacher, wrote the following: "C. S. Lewis had a defective view of salvation and was an opponent of the substitutionary and penal view of the atonement." (Christianity Today, 1963 quoted in the article "Mere Atonement: C. S. Lewis & the Multiple Angles of Redemption" by Ariel James Vanderhorst, Touchstone, April 2009)

The point of Vanderhorst's article is that Lewis's view of the atonement is difficult to discern. One can imagine what Lewis thought about the atonement if one reads the whole Lewis corpus. The article "Mere Atonement" beautifully summarizes the various expressions of Lewis's view(s).

This morning I read the following passage in Lewis's Miracles: A Preliminary Study that helps me see how orthodox Lewis really was.

"Because the higher can descend into the lower He who from all eternity has been incessantly plunging Himself in the blessed death of self-surrender to the Father can also most fully descend into the horrible and (for us) involuntary death of the body. Because Vicariousness is the very idiom of the reality He has created, His death can become ours."

Perhaps that paragraph is difficult to understand out of context. If so, I urge you to read the whole chapter titled "The Grand Miracle." Indeed, I urge you to read the whole book.

The Man Who Loves Literature

2009-05-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

I just added a new link to "Sites I Recommend." The site has the rather mundane title "Earl Palmer Ministries", but it features a man who has had a profound influence on me. Earl Palmer doesn't even know me but, through his sermons and lectures, he has encouraged me to read classic literature as a "means of grace" (is that too strong a term?).

A few of Earl Palmer's more recent "talks" are posted on his website. This morning I listened to his presentation titled "The Heart Has Its Reasons: Blaise Pascal's" (11/10/08). You can listen to this lecture by clicking on http://www.earlpalmer.org/resources.html and scrolling through the talks until you find the aforementioned title. In that lecture Palmer briefly discusses Pascal's "thought" that begins, "All men seek happiness. There are no exceptions." Palmer makes the comment that this is the great "God-shaped Vacuum" statement by Pascal. That "thought" is of interest to me because it (along with similar statements by St. Augustine and C. S. Lewis) provides the basis of my work in Quest Ministries--the great longing that characterizes humanity.

Here is Pascal's crucial description of the human condition. "What else does this craving, and this [human] helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself."

Pensée With a Plot

2009-04-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

I continue reading Les Misérables. The section I'm meditating on this morning is an encounter Fantine has with Javert. The young woman has been insulted by a dandy, so she retaliates. Javert only sees Fantine's response to the one who had mistreated her; so he immediately arrests her, assigning a sentence of six months in prison. Accordingly, Fantine pleads for mercy.

Here is a passage that conveys some of the wisdom Victor Hugo possessed. He gives a painfully beautiful description of Fantine: "She talked thus, bent double, shaken with sobs, blinded by tears, her neck bare, clenching her hands, coughing with a dry and short cough, stammering very feebly with an agonized voice. Great grief is a divine and terrible radiance which transfigures the wretched. At that moment Fantine had again become beautiful. At certain instants she stopped and tenderly kissed the policeman's coat. She would have softened a heart of granite; but you cannot soften a heart of wood."

"'Come,' said Javert, 'I have heard you. Haven't you got through? March off at once! You have your six months! The eternal Father in person could do nothing for you.'"

Three Dark Films

2009-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

My wife and I watched disturbing films three Friday nights in a row. All three illustrate the human condition. All three (I must say) were at my suggestion.

The Talented Mr. Ripley -- features a man whose talents included lying, impersonation, and forgery.

Doubt -- features a Roman Catholic nun who brings a dubious accusation against a priest.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas -- features the son of a Nazi commandant who befriends a Jewish boy (of the same age) in a internment camp.

We're due for a light hearted comedy. Any suggestions?

Some Things Never Change!

2009-04-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

Consider the following written in 19th century France.

"When the populace is hurting, when there isn't enough work, when business drops off, the taxpayer balks at paying taxes out of penury, exhausts and exceeds deadlines, and the government spends a lot of money on the legal costs of tax collection and recovery. When there is abundant work, when a region is happy and rich, taxes are easily paid and cost the government very little to collect. We might say that public poverty and wealth have an infallible barometer--the cost of tax collection." (Les Misérables, Fantine, book V, chapter VII -- translation by Julie Rose)

Doubt

2009-03-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

Doubt is a must-see film for anyone willing to wrestle with ambiguities. Rather than review the film myself, I will refer you to the Christianity Today, Catholic News Service, and Plugged In reviews.

As my wife and I were leaving the theater last night a woman, unknown to either of us, asked me, "So, do you have any doubts about Father Flynn's guilt or innocence?" I won't tell you my response because it would reveal my perspective on the film; but I will say that that woman's question stoked the discussion my wife and I had all the way home. Her question continued to fuel our conversation as we went to sleep last night and when we woke this morning. I have no doubt that we will continue discussing the film in the future.

I welcome other conversations about the film. If you have seen the film, please let me know of your interest in discussing it. If you haven't, I urge you to do so—then we can dialogue. Here's the link to the theatrical trailer.

The Natural Happiness of Children

2009-03-06T03:31:00.000-08:00

"Children at once accept joy and happiness with quick familiarity, being themselves naturally all happiness and joy."

The context? Jean Valjean has just rescued Cosette from the clutches of the cruel inn keepers, the Thénardiers. Cosette awakens to her new surroundings and recognizes Jean Valjean as the man who rescued her. Her first words were, "Oh! yes—so it is! Good morning, monsieur."

The Purpose of Myth

2009-03-03T03:55:00.000-08:00

For some people myth clarifies the rituals of a community. Others use it as the quasi-scientific explanation of events in our environment (e.g. thunder, rain, etc.).

C. S. Lewis understood myth to be a foreshadowing of the coming of Christ. It established metaphors and mental images through which pagans could understand the significance of the Incarnation. (Doris T. Myers, C. S. Lewis in Context, 210-211)

"Whatever things [including myths] have been well said by all men belong to us Christians." (Justin Martyr quoted by Myers, 213)

Literacy Without Real Education

2009-02-24T03:11:00.000-08:00

"Literacy without real education leaves the public open to language control through the press." A belief expressed by C. S. Lewis in That Hideous Strength (Doris T. Myers, C. S. Lewis in Context, 103).

The Task of the Modern Educator

2009-02-22T03:03:00.000-08:00

"The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts."

The Abolition of Man, chapter 1 paragraph 8

Happy-Go-Lucky

2009-02-21T19:02:00.000-08:00

Happy-Go-Lucky

Category: Relationships

Poppy tries to bring happiness into the life of everyone she encounters. The film is a montage of her experiences.Poppy encounters one person (representative of a whole lot of people) that she apparently is not able to influence.

The appeal of this film is the performance of the two principle actors: Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan -- and the music that accompanies their performances. Certainly the other supporting actors compliment or provide contrasting color with Poppy's spirit, but the interaction between Poppy and Scott (her driving instructor) is the essence of the film.

You can see the trailer here.

Mozart: God's Conduit for Beauty

2009-02-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Antonio Salieri, as portrayed in the film Amadeus, helped me understand that God uses the arts to reveal himself to human beings. I’m sure I knew that intellectually, but this truth came alive in my imagination as a result of watching Amadeus.

What’s more, Salieri’s description of a mysterious longing in Amadeus enabled me to understand and interpret my own glimpses of eternity. So it is no surprise that Amadeus is one of my favorite films.

The drama begins with the elderly Salieri attempting suicide. Playwright Peter Shaffer speculates that Salieri has long lived with the belief that he was responsible for the early demise of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The weight of guilt has taken its toll, so Salieri needs to express his angst in some way. The entire story is Salieri’s confession of his plot to kill Mozart.

Salieri tells his confessor about his first encounter with the celebrated musician at the Viennese residence of the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. There Salieri furtively witnessed a young man engaging a young woman in flirtatiously crude conversation. While the couple is preoccupied, an ensemble begins performing a serenade. Hearing the music, the young man breaks away and rushes into the salon to conduct the performance himself. Salieri follows Mozart and is shocked to discover that the bawdy character is, in fact, the famous Mozart.

Curious about Mozart’s talent, Salieri studies the musical score of the serenade after the performance has ended. Salieri describes the music as a segment is reprised for us on the film soundtrack. “This was a music I had never heard—filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God. But why? Why would God choose an obscene child to be his instrument?”

What a marvelous depiction of someone experiencing poignant longing! It is remarkably similar to descriptions given by C. S. Lewis. How can this be? Did the playwright read Lewis’s works? Or did both men, in strikingly similar language, describe a not uncommon human experience?

Later in the film, Mozart’s wife secretly takes some of his manuscripts to persuade Salieri to give her husband work. Salieri is astounded by Mozart’s ability. As Salieri reads the manuscripts and questions Constanze, he realizes that Mozart has written first drafts of music from his head as if he were taking dictation. Salieri is no less astonished by the beauty of the music, for he comments in rapture, “Here again was the very voice of God. I was staring through the cage of those meticulous ink strokes at an absolute beauty.”

He is so enthralled with the music that the manuscripts fall from his hands. With mixed powerful emotions (ecstasy and fury) he walks out of the room, stepping on Mozart’s autographs in defiance of the One who gave Mozart his gifts. The next scene features Salieri throwing a crucifix in the fire and telling God that they are now enemies. Salieri had wanted to be God’s conduit of beauty on earth. Instead God had chosen Mozart.

The point I wish to make is that, by expressing rage toward God for giving Mozart gifts Salieri wanted, Salieri was acknowledging that the beauty in Mozart’s music came directly from God.

Peter Shaffer got it right—at least about the perfection (the God-like quality) of Mozart’s creative work. The composer Johannes Brahms wrote regarding Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro, “In my opinion, each number in Figaro is a miracle; it is totally beyond me how anyone could create anything so perfect; nothing like it was ever done again, not even by Beethoven.”

From what source but God could such beauty come?

I Was Wrong (and Right)!

2009-02-09T04:28:00.000-08:00

I kept telling people that I hadn't seen the latest Narnia flick, Prince Caspian, because I didn't want to be disappointed. Well, last week I realized that it was time to "bite the bullet" and watch the film. And I have to confess, I was pleasantly surprised.

As I watched, I had the impression that I had wrongfully prejudged the film, for I was having a wonderful cinematic experience. There was one scene, with the leitmotif of wonder I remembered from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in which Lucy dreams that she is watching Dryads taking shape and that she is in Aslan's presence, which is pure Sehnsucht (a.k.a. Joy).

Yet as I kept watching, I recognized what others had said about the film: it spends far too much time with the battle scenes. Furthermore, there is very little regarding the stories of Narnia-of-old that is part of the fabric of the original story. And I can't remember any mention of Bacchus or Silenus in the movie version. I would have enjoyed seeing a reproduction of Aslan's invitation to the children, late in the story, to "come ride on my back again today." Picture the scene when "both girls climbed onto the warm golden back as they had done no one knew how many years before. Then the whole party moved off--Aslan leading, Bacchus and his Maenads leaping, rushing, and turning somersaults, the beasts frisking round them, and Silenus and his donkey bringing up the rear."

I could go on expressing my wish-list for more delightful scenes from Lewis's imagination. Indeed, the film is a poor facsimile of Lewis's wonder-filled fantasy. I felt as though the screenwriter, having written an essay for a final exam, didn't understand the question. But apparently the producers had to appeal to a larger crowd than the millions who had already read the book. Wouldn't that group of people have paid a little extra to see a more faithful rendition of the story? I think they would have.

The fact is that I did have a joyful experience watching the film. In fact, it came across as a better product than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The setting and scenery are (again) beautiful. And the cinematography (from a lay-person's perspective) is impressive. It's a much better "action flick" than LWW.

The film left me anticipating the release of The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader,' hoping the producers (as a friend expressed) learn from their misdeeds on Prince Caspian and come out with a better product.

© 2009 by Stan Bohall

Three New Discoveries about Narnia

2009-02-07T03:55:00.000-08:00

I've come across three books, both new and old, that fearture Narnia. I wasn't aware of any of them until a few weeks ago.

The first is a fairly scholarly work, the one I quoted in my last blog, C. S. Lewis in Context by Doris T. Myers.

The second is titled The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia, by Laura Miller, a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review, co-founder of salon.com, and a self-proclaimed non-Christian.

Then there's The Everything Guide to C. S. Lewis & Narnia, a pretty good dummies-style book by Jon Kennedy.

I'm planning on writing more about the second two books in days to come, but for now I want to quote two passages from Myers's work. She concludes her discussion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this way: "The children love Aslan not because they owe a debt of gratitude, but because he is beautiful. Narnia teaches them to love beauty so that later they may embrace truth and goodness" (132). That statement is so incredibly meaningful to me. Those of you that know me probably know why it has such meaning for me.

Another statement by Myers that is worth meditating on is from the beginning of her discussion of Prince Caspian. "At the end of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe the Professor advises the children about getting back into Narnia. He says, 'Don't go trying to use the same route twice. Indeed, don't try to get there at all' (186). His words echo John's experience in The Pilgrim's Regress; every time the young man tried to see his Island [Lewis's symbol for Joy] again, he attained only a substitute or a corrupted form of it. The theme of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the attainment of Joy through the love of Aslan, is also the theme of Prince Caspian" (132).

© 2009 by Stan Bohall

I'm a Christian Humanist!

2009-02-04T03:57:00.001-08:00

I have often wondered why many conservative Christians make different decisions about "engaging the culture" than their parents or grandparents did. That is, why do many adult children (and grandchildren) of yesteryear's fundamentalists and evangelicals read novels and watch films their parents would have avoided like the plague?

I'm sure there are many answers--probably as many as there are people. But here's a response I am pursuing today: Christian humanism. And Exhibit A is C. S. Lewis.

Doris T. Myers, in her book, C. S. Lewis in Context, devotes one whole chapter to Lewis's thinking and writing in "The Context of Christian Humanism." There she writes, "Christian humanism asserts that the knowledge of non-Christian, even nonreligious, literature and philosophy is compatible with leading a Christian life."

Myers continues, "The Christian humanist argues that Christ the Word is Lord of all human culture, and that all human learning is valuable because it contains hints and foreshadowings of the Incarnation. The Christian antihumanist, on the other hand, argues that since Jesus Christ is the Word of God and the Bible is the truth of that Word, it is a waste of time to study anything else. From the beginning, Christianity has experienced tension between these two viewpoints." (113)

I have not been able to express my beliefs about reading fiction and watching films that succinctly; but when I read Myers's description of a Christian humanist, I realized that I am one. Indeed, Christian humanism is the basis of my work with Quest Ministries. And my article, "Mozart: God's Conduit for Beauty" that you can find on my website (http://www.questmin.org/), expresses that viewpoint.

And now if you will excuse me, I'll continue reading Myers's account of Lewis's Christian humanism.

© 2009 by Stan Bohall

A Fairy Tale for Adults

2009-01-27T12:07:00.000-08:00

Shoeless Joe Jackson and Ray Kinsella in the film Field of Dreams helped me realize that for many, stepping onto a ball diamond or walking through a stadium turnstile is like entering (escaping into) another world. That was certainly true for Shoeless Joe the night he stepped onto the ball field Ray Kinsella carved out of his cornfield.

What is there about a baseball field that would prompt Shoeless Joe to ask, “Is this heaven?” And why would American viewers respond so profoundly to that question?

There are several plausible answers. First, the field is beautiful. Heaven is purported to be a beautiful place, so might this beautifully sculpted park be heaven? Also, perhaps Joe feels that his misdeeds have been wiped clean, that his sins have been forgiven. He can again play baseball without charges of wrongdoing weighing heavily upon him.

But I think the best explanation for Joe’s query is that the question makes sense in the story, for Field of Dreams is a fairy tale, and fairy tales offer glimpses of heaven.

Ray Kinsella and other characters find themselves in the Perilous Realm of Faërie at various times throughout the story. They feel the air that blows from that country.

Ray feels breezes from that other place when a voice whispers, “If you build it, he will come.” Ray and his wife, Annie, experience the Perilous Realm when they dream that Ray and Terrance Mann, a reclusive Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the 1960s, are together at Fenway Park. Fairyland hovers over Kinsella and Mann in Fenway Park as they hear the words “Go the Distance” and read a message on the Red Sox scoreboard prompting them to drive to Chisholm, Minnesota. There they hope to find an obscure ballplayer, by the name of Archibald “Moonlight” Graham, who never got the chance to bat in the major leagues.

The Realm is evident when Ray goes for a walk in the northern Minnesota town and finds himself in 1972 seeking to persuade the now retired Doc Graham to go with him to a place where dreams come true. Ray and Terrance are still in the Realm the next day when they pick up a hitchhiker and discover that they have extended hospitality to the young would-be ballplayer, Archie Graham.

But what glimpses of heaven does this fairy tale give us? J. R. R. Tolkien tells us that fairy tales work on us in at least four ways. They provide enchantment, recovery, escape, and consolation.

Enchantment in fairy stories is the wonder of another world coming into our experience. As Ray yields to the enchantment of the voice—as he believes and builds the field—he sees a new Realm come to life that Shoeless Joe enters to experience redemption. Along with the characters in the story, we are enchanted.

Recovery helps us see things as we were meant to see them. We are healed of the wounds of this world as we abide in the wonder of the Perilous Realm. So Ray and Annie acquire a measure of wholeness. They are able to interact with Shoeless Joe and the other ballplayers. We also feel a sense of recovery as we engage in the story. We live in hopeful expectation, willing the characters to see that real world. Ray and Annie’s daughter, Karin, probably never lost her ability to believe in and function as part of that world. In contrast, Annie’s brother Mark (the antagonist in the story) lives in the “unless I see, I won’t believe” realm of empirical evidence through most of the story.

To escape is to acknowledge that our present world is not our true home. There is a world that is far more real and that naturally feels like home. So, late in the story, Ray’s young daughter, Karin, and author Terrance Mann invite Ray to escape and give way to the power of the Perilous Realm. Like biblical prophets, both give inspired predictions to assure Ray that he need not sell his farm, for “people will come.”

Consolation is the joy of the happy ending. Happy endings are essential to fairy tales, and a happy ending usually occurs because of a surprising, even seemingly tragic, turn of events. Karin’s fall from the bleachers supplies that turn of events. As Karin’s mother instinctively runs toward the house to call for help, Ray turns toward young Archie Graham, believing he can save Karin’s life. At that moment, ballplayer and future physician Archie Graham has to decide whether to cross the line that separates the two worlds and give up all hope of playing major league baseball or to selfishly hold on to his own dream for the future. He quickly decides to do what he can and runs toward the crushed stone. He stops short, drops his ball glove, crosses the line from one world to another, and “morphs” into old Doc Graham. That sacrifice not only saves Karin’s life; it opens Mark’s eyes to see the magic of the field. Dazed by what has just taken place, Mark asks, “When did these ballplayers get here?” He becomes a believer in the magical quality of the field, turning 180 degrees from skepticism to certainty. He emphatically enjoins, “Do not sell this land, Ray. You got to keep this farm.”

This discussion of fairy tales helps us see poignant longing in this story. Prior to Karin’s fall, Mark, like a demon perched on Ray’s shoulder, pressures him to sign papers that signal surrender of the farmland. Mark wants Ray to give up ownership of the farm and abandon this magical field. Karin, like an angel whispering in her father’s ear, tells him that he doesn’t need to sell the farm. “People will come,” she prophesies in an extended litany.

Then Terrance Mann utters his own prediction. “People will come, Ray…. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. ‘Of course, we won’t mind if you look around,’ you’ll say. ‘It’s only $20 per person.’ They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it. For it is money they have and peace they like.... And they’ll watch the game, and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. Their memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray…. People will most definitely come.”

Terrance Mann agrees with Shoeless Joe: this field provides a glimpse of heaven.

Ten Blogging Commandments

2009-01-22T06:46:00.000-08:00

The January/February issue of Touchstone: a Journal of Mere Christianity informs its readership about a Decalogue for Christian Internet bloggers written by Britain's Evangelical Alliance. These "new" commandments reflect the Decalogue and are pertinent for blogging today.
1. You shall not put your blog before your integrity.
2. You shall not make an idol of your blog.
3. You shall not misuse your screen name by using your anonymity to sin.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by taking one day off a week from your blog.
5. Honor your fellow bloggers above yourself, and do not give undue significance to their mistakes.
6. You shall not murder someone else's honor, reputation, or feelings.
7. You shall not use the Web to commit or permit adultery in your mind.
8. You shall not steal another person's content.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your fellow blogger.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's blog ranking; be content with your own content.

What do you think? Do believers need to be reminded of how God's law relates to using the Internet?

Well, that's one of the nuggets I've encountered in my new issue of Touchstone. I'll continue reading and, no doubt, find some more.

Seeing God's Image

2009-01-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

Mysterious Longing

2009-01-12T13:59:00.000-08:00

The Hero Story

2009-01-12T13:56:00.002-08:00

Belief

2009-01-12T13:54:00.002-08:00

Relationships

2009-01-12T13:54:00.001-08:00

Destiny

2009-01-12T10:59:00.001-08:00

Happy Endings

2009-01-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Appendix

2009-01-12T10:56:00.000-08:00

Our Eternal Retirement Account

2009-01-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

Here's the Call to Worship we read in our worship service this morning. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. Our inheritance is kept in heaven for us, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5 -- adapted from the NIV)

It occurred to me that the meaning of this passage is clarified and intensified by the recent downturn in the stock market. Indeed, we have an inheritance in heaven that can never perish, spoil or fade. It is kept there for us, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of our salvation.

It is encouraging to continue to meditate on that passage. What a contrast to our changing IRAs and 401Ks in this world.

Surprised by C.S. Lewis

2009-01-10T18:48:00.001-08:00

Whether you've read a lot or a little of the works of C.S. Lewis you can be surprised by the wit and wisdom of this great 20th Century defender of the faith. Described by someone as the "most thoroughly converted man I have ever known," Lewis lived and wrote about the Christian life to convince skeptics and encourage believers that Christianity is the truth. You will have the opportunity to read a brief biography and view a short video on his life. Class discussions will be based on short excerpts from The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, The Four Loves, and other writings of Lewis. Our goal is to motivate you to read Lewis on your own and discuss his works with others.

Text: C.S. Lewis: Readings for Meditation and Reflection edited by Walter Hooper.

Reading Narnia With the Children in Your Life

2009-01-10T18:47:00.001-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia contain some of the best devotional literature available. But don't tell the children; just let them read for the fun of it. Kathryn Lindskoog's Journey to Narnia will be our guide as we discover some of God's truth smuggled into these timeless tales written by C.S. Lewis. Delightful reading assignments and class discussions will motivate you to read the chronicles on your own. Then you will feel confident to lead family discussions centered on these classic adventures.

Text: Journey To Narnia by Kathryn Lindskoog (Hope Publishing House, Pasadena, CA, 1998)

Got Questions About the Psalms?

2009-01-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

C.S. Lewis has answers. In fact, he may bring questions about the Psalms to light you never thought you had. Why do the poets want their enemies dead? Why are we commanded to worship? Why would someone want to spend his whole life in the temple? What's so great about the Law? …and much, much more. We'll discover the richness of the Psalms (and other books of the Bible) with Lewis as our guide.

Text: Reflections on the Psalms by C.S. Lewis

A Grief Observed

2009-01-10T18:45:00.002-08:00

At age 57 C.S. Lewis married Joy Davidman, an American poet with two young boys. After four brief but delightful years, Joy succumbed to cancer. Lewis's response was to write a journal. He wrote it for his benefit; he published it for ours. A Grief Observed shows his progress through pain. Whether you've lost a marriage partner, or a close family member or friend, or know someone who has, discussing A Grief Observed can be a means of grace. In addition, we'll discuss the Afterward to this book, one of the best short biographies of Lewis written by his friend, Chad Walsh.

Text: A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis

The Great Divorce

2009-01-10T18:45:00.001-08:00

What will you be like in Heaven? Will your attitudes, speech, and actions change? Can you begin to live a heavenly life here on earth? These are just a few of the questions C.S. Lewis addresses in his classic fantasy, The Great Divorce. This discussion-oriented study will make you more “heavenly minded” and more “earthly good”.

What's the Devil Up To?

2009-01-10T18:44:00.002-08:00

C.S. Lewis thought it might be good for us to know some of the devil's schemes so we can resist them. These humorous, yet sobering, letters from a senior demon to his nephew Wormwood, give us a forewarning. They may sound all too familiar. It has been said that The Screwtape

Letters is the most engaging account of temptation - and triumph over it - ever written. Join us and find out.

Text: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Reading Narnia as an Adult

2009-01-10T18:44:00.001-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia aren't just for children. In fact, Lewis wrote fairy tales because that's the way he could say what needed to be said. They can be read on a child's level and on an adult level. He even wrote to a young girl concerning The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

“But someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. You can then take it down from some upper shelf, dust it, and tell me what you think.”
Let's take one down from the shelf and learn from one another.

Text: The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” or one of the other six your group would like to discuss.

C.S. Lewis on Heaven

2009-01-10T18:43:00.003-08:00

Someone has observed that nearly all of Lewis's works have the aim of arousing our desire for heaven or showing us how to live in proper anticipation of our true home. It is interesting to note that several of his works end with a description of the glories of eternity. We can't discuss them all, but we'll read several, including his sermon, The Weight of Glory, a chapter entitled "Heaven", and excerpts from the Narnian tales.

Texts: The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses by C.S. Lewis and excerpts from other works.

C. S. Lewis and the Gospel

2009-01-10T18:43:00.001-08:00

What prompted an atheistic prig (his word) to become a Christian gentleman? The Good News of Jesus Christ! Once C.S. Lewis discovered that Christianity was Good News, he wanted to share it with others. His expression of the "bottom line" - the ground on which all who have faith in Jesus Christ can agree - has been preserved in Mere Christianity.

If you've never read it, it may surprise you with its clarity. If you've read it several times, there will be much for you to discover in our discussions. Either way you'll grow and receive some insight to share with others.

Text: Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Fantasy Literature as a Tool for Evangelism

2009-01-10T18:42:00.003-08:00

The Chronicles of Narnia convey an explicit Christian message. At Quest Ministries we believe that all fantasy literature conveys an implicit Christian message. Mythologist Joseph Campbell concluded that all stories are part of the one story: once humans lived in Paradise; we were banished from Paradise; we are seeking to re-enter Paradise.

C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien wrote fantasy literature as an expression of this desire to enter the world we long for. You will discover how you can use interest in the Star Wars series, the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings, and “The Matrix” as a way of conveying Christian truth to your friends.

Christianity and Modern Mythology

2009-01-10T18:42:00.001-08:00

The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and the Harry Potter series all have roots in the world of mythology.
C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien believed that Christianity is the fulfillment of all myths. Indeed, the universal myth of the dying god who sacrifices himself for the people shows an intrinsic awareness of the human need for redemption not by one's own efforts but as a gift from some outer realm. You will discover how you can use modern mythology as a springboard for conveying Christian truth.

Planet in Peril

2009-01-10T18:41:00.001-08:00

What if you were sent to another planet to help the Eve of that world resist the temptation - what would you do? That was Ransom's assignment; one he discovered after arriving on the planet Perelandra. If he were to succeed think of the possibilities. Join us for this adventure in imagination. You will grow in your understanding of your role as a Christian in the universe.

Text: Perelandra by C.S. Lewis.

Seminars, Courses and Discussion Groups

2009-01-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

Click a seminar title in the list below to view its details.
If one of these course seminar descriptions interests you, we'll do it!

Surprised by C.S. Lewis
Reading Narnia With the Children in Your Life
Got Questions About the Psalms?
A Grief Observed
The Great Divorce
What's the Devil Up To?
Reading Narnia as an Adult
C.S. Lewis on Heaven
C. S. Lewis and the Gospel
Fantasy Literature as a Tool for Evangelism
Christianity and Modern Mythology
Planet in Peril

If they prompt other ideas, we can consider those as well.

Financial Considerations
These seminars are presented on a fee basis plus travel expenses.

Comments from participants in the Seminars
“I had never read any of Lewis's works but since this course started I have received five of his books and really enjoyed them.”

“[Stan's] love for his works makes a person want to investigate them further.”

“This class made Lewis's works reach the top of my reading lists.”

“Stan was not only informative in his presentation he was courteous when dealing with the occasional dissenting view.”

“I appreciated how the class was led - very encompassing and encouraging. He related selections from Lewis to personal experience.”

“Wonderfully organized and thoughtful presentations. Your enthusiasm is contagious. I'll be reading more C.S. Lewis.”

“The attendance has been at a peak level and the enthusiasm of our people has been great to see. I am particularly excited to see our people introduced to the great literature of C.S. Lewis. There is no substitute for the development of a growing edge in the spiritual lives of our people. I have approached Stan about returning to do a specific study on a singular writing of Lewis.”

“The instruction and information you shared with the adult class proved to be timely and inspiring. Whether persons had read "The Chronicles of Narnia" or not, you drew all attendees into the experience of considering Lewis's message about true Christian faith."

Book List

2009-01-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

“Books tell you about the person who chose them.” Katherine Paterson

Books for Reflection and Discussion
By C.S. Lewis

Fantasy
The Great Divorce
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle

Science Fiction
Out of the Silent Planet (Ransom Trilogy, Book One)
Perelandra (Ransom Trilogy, Book Two)
That Hideous Strength (Ransom Trilogy, Book Three)

Autobiography
The Pilgrim's Regress
Surprised by Joy

Letters
Fiction
The Screwtape Letters
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer
Non-Fiction
They Stand Together (letters to Arthur Greeves 1914-1963)
Letters of C. S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis: Letters to Children
Letters to an American Lady
A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken, contains some letters by Lewis

Journals
A Grief Observed

Apologetics
The Problem of Pain
The Abolition of Man
Miracles: A Preliminary Study
Mere Christianity

Collections of Essays, Sermons and Short Stories
The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses
The World‘s Last Night and Other Essays
God In the Dock
Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories
The Four Loves
Christian Reflections

Fiction Based on Mythology
Till We Have Faces (a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche)

Comments on the Scriptures
Reflections on the Psalms

Poetry
The Collected Poems of C.S. Lewis

Excerpts and Quotes from Lewis's Writings
C.S. Lewis: The Joyful Christian
C.S. Lewis: The Visionary Christian
The Business of Heaven
The Quotable Lewis
C.S. Lewis: Reflections for Meditation and Reflection

About Our Longing for Heaven in the Works of C.S. Lewis

Peter Kreeft
Heaven, The Heart's Deepest Longing
Corbin Scott Carnell
Bright Shadow of Reality, Spiritual Longing in C.S. Lewis
Wayne Martindale
Journey to the Celestial City, Glimpses of Heaven from Great Literary Classics

About C.S. Lewis and His Works
There are too many books about Lewis to list. Here are a few that have been especially helpful for Quest Ministries.

The Pilgrim‘s Guide: C.S. Lewis and the Art of Witness,
edited by David Mills
C.S. Lewis, Lightbearer in the Shadowlands: The Evangelistic Vision of C.S. Lewis,
edited by Angus J.L. Menuge
The C.S. Lewis Readers‘ Encyclopedia,
edited by Jeffrey D. Schultz and John G. West Jr.
Companion to Narnia
by Paul F. Ford
C.S. Lewis: Mere Christian
by Kathryn Lindskoog
Journey Into Narnia
by Kathryn Lindskoog
C.S. Lewis: Life at the Center
by Perry Bramlett
A Severe Mercy
by Sheldon Vanauken
Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis
by George Sayer

“Using creative fiction and non-fiction literature to help people discover God is a concept for our time. Stan implements this concept with excellence in his class series on C.S. Lewis. Our church hosted a five-week series that Stan led on ‘Surprised by C.S. Lewis.’ He did an excellent job of teaching and facilitating discussion. I was amazed at the number (60) that turned out for a summer adult class!

The content and the communicator were very attractive. I would have him back in a ‘heart beat.’ If you are interested in a creative way to reach seekers and to expand the minds of Christians, Stan and his ministry could be just right.”
Conrad Koch, Pastor of Adult Ministries, Avon, CT

What We Are About

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Talks, seminars, courses and discussion groups

For churches, home groups and individuals.

Can our Longing for Heaven Become our Guide Through Life?
Reading and thinking about the writings of C. S. Lewis (and other mythopoeic writers) can awaken our quest.

Talks, seminars, courses and discussion groups will help you awaken

and explore your capacity for joy.

Discover and explore your sense of longing.

Learn to dialogue with others about this basic human desire.

Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning

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Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning.

This is a beautifully poignant film. The phrase "beautifully poignant" is appropriate for part of the glory of the film is the sadness expressed by all the characters: three generations of people influenced by evil perpetrated in an internment camp in France during World War II. There is beauty in the way the sorrow and pain is resolved forty years after the fact. There is beauty in the meal that occasioned the resolution. And there is beauty conveyed through the photography and choice of setting for the film.

My wife and I just happened upon this film Friday night, October 24, 2008. We were pleased with our choice to experience it together and have thought about and discussed the film from time to time since watching it.

Big Night

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Big Night is a secular version of Babbette's Feast. I read a reference to the film in the article titled "A Holy Longing" by David Taylor (Christianity Today, October 2008, 38-41). The author points out that one of the characters in the film (Ann) tastes the sauce made by one of the restaurateurs (Primo). Taylor describes it this way, "

The taste of the sauce is so exquisite that Ann can do nothing but exclaim repeatedly, 'Oh my God!' Primo takes her exclamation and turns it into a keen insight: 'Oh my God is right, see? Now you know. To eat good food is to be close to God.' Then he quips: 'The knowledge of God is the bread of angels. I'm never sure what that means, but it is true!' Here Ann breaks into laughter."

Later in the film (and this is the part that reminds me of Babbette's Feast) the whole group, gathered in the restaurant for this special meal, is overwhelmed by the splendor of the feast Primo prepared for them.

The down-side of the film (and that which earns its R rating) is language. One character is obviously compelled to use profanity, even when describing the beauty of delicious food. Apparently the screenwriter thought the expletives are essential to the character of the film.

Oliver Twist -- a Familiar Plot?

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A recent “great read” is Oliver Twist. As usual, when I find something that feeds my soul, I hunger for more expressions of the beauty. So I watched the Masterpiece Theatre version as well as Roman Polanski’s film produced in 2005. I am also looking forward to reading the book again. Then, knowing the characters and the plot, I will have a more informed “look ‘round.”

Recently my wife watched the Roman Polanski film and the conclusion to the Masterpiece Theatre version with me. Naturally we began discussing the character Oliver Twist. One source I encountered described him as incorruptible. But my wife expressed that none of us is incorruptible. That view of a person is unrealistic and unbelievable. Another thought about the main character is that he cannot be a hero (in the usual sense) because he is passive—he doesn't take charge of his life. He merely accepts things that happen to him. So, some time after that discussion with my wife and my own ruminations about Oliver Twist, I encountered the following paragraph while preparing for a small group Bible study. Consider the following.“

The big idea that runs like a river though the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is that God’s enemies are committed to do anything they can to make human life generally miserable and wretched (1 Peter 5:8) and, if possible, to destroy human beings altogether (John 10:10)—including dragging them down with the devils themselves into the flames of hell reserved for enemies of God. But God, in his incredible kindness, has devised a plan by which miserable human beings, trapped in their own cycle of sin, on the brink of destruction, may yet be rescued, set free, and healed of spiritual and emotional sicknesses. God’s Son, Jesus, is pivotal in this rescue operation” (Robert C. Girard and Larry Richards in The Book of Hebrews: the Smart Guide to the Bible, 42).

That statement can be adapted to become a summary of the novel Oliver Twist. The big idea that runs through the book is that Oliver’s enemies (Mr. Bumble, Fagin, Bill Sikes, and Monks) are committed to do anything they can to make Oliver generally miserable and wretched and, if possible, to destroy him altogether—dragging him down to become a criminal. But Providence, in His incredible kindness, has devised a plan by which Oliver, trapped in a cycle of one destructive turn after another, is rescued and set free from the clutches of his enemies. Mr. Brownlow is pivotal in this rescue operation.

Intimations of Immortality in Oliver Twist

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Who would have thought Charles Dickens would include passages not unlike those of Wordsworth's "Intimations of Immortality"? I certainly didn't expect it. But Dickens wrote during the Romantic period, so why not find expressions of past and future eternal bliss in his works as in those of other Romantic authors of prose and poetry.

In reference to Oliver Twist, Dickens writes, “The boy stirred, and smiled in his sleep, as though these marks of pity and compassion had awakened some pleasant dream of a love and affection he had never known. Thus, a strain of gentle music, or the rippling of water in a silent place, or the odor of a flower, or even the mention of a familiar word, will sometimes call up sudden dim remembrances of scenes that never were, in his life; which vanish like a breath; which some brief memory of a happier existence, long gone by, would seem to have awakened; which no voluntary exertion of the mind can ever recall.” (chapter 30, paragraph 5)

Here’s another account of Oliver’s frame of mind. “Who can describe the pleasure and delight, the peace of mind and soft tranquility, the sickly boy felt in the balmy air, and among the green hills and rich woods of an inland village! Who can tell how scenes of peace and quietude sink into the minds of pain-worn dwellers in close and noisy places, and carry their own freshness, deep into their jaded hearts! Men who have lived in crowded, pent-up streets, through lives of toil, and who have never wished for change; men to whom custom has indeed been second to nature, and who have come almost to love each brick and stone that formed the narrow boundaries of their daily walks; even they, with the hand of death upon them, have been known to yearn at last for one short glimpse of Nature’s face; and, carried far from the scenes of their old pains and pleasures, have seemed to pass at once into a new state of being. Crawling forth, from day to day, to some green sunny spot, they have had such memories wakened up within them by the sight of sky, and hill, and plain, and glistening water, that a foretaste of heaven itself has soothed their quick decline, and they have sunk into their tombs, as peacefully as the sun, whose setting they watched from their lonely chamber window but a few hours before, faded from their dim and feeble sight! The memories which peaceful country scenes call up, are not of this world, nor of its thoughts and hopes. Their gentile influence may teach us how to weave fresh garland for the graves of those we loved: may purify our thoughts, and bear down before it old enmity and hatred; but beneath all this, there lingers, in the least reflective mind, a vague and half-formed consciousness of having held such feelings long before, in some remote and distant time, which calls up solemn thoughts of distant times to come, and bends down pride and worldliness beneath it.” (chapter 32, paragraph 52)